Dark Beauty
by wAcKaMoLe911
Summary: All Laila wants is to be a fullfleged Sith and make her Master, Lord Vader proud, but when her final task is to bring Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side, it won't be too easy, esp. if she starts to fall in love with him...
1. Chapter 1: Questions and Some Answers

**Hola all!! This is my new story, Dark Beauty! I hope you all enjoy!! Please read and review:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of it except for Laila, George Lucas owns the rest, but ask if you want to use Laila!!**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 1: QUESTIONS AND SOME ANSWERS**

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**Summary: Luke was on his way to meet Yoda when he's intercepted by a _dark beauty_, soon he finds himself falling for this mysterious girl, but where do her feelings lie, on the Dark Side, or the Light Side? And for whom will she risk everything?**

**Dark Beauty**

Luke didn't know what to think. This girl had kept him talking for 2 hours. With her charm, grace, and overall humor and warm smile he couldn't bring himself to say he had to leave.

Even though he _did_ have to leave. He had stopped in a remote system by the name of Hoth on his way to find the great Jedi Master Yoda. He had run by a supply shop when he ran to into this…_intriguing_ girl. She looked quite young, even younger than his 19 standard years.

Her hair went a little ways down her shoulders; it was brown with some blond and red highlights that you could only really see when the light hit her just the right way. Her eyes were the prettiest Luke had ever seen; a deep turquoise that oddly reminded him of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on.

"So, would you ever be willing to inform someone of your name, since we've been talking for the past, oh, say, two hours?" he asked leaning over the glass show counter.

She laughed, a laugh Luke had come to love even in the short time he had known her.

"Why, who wants to know?" she said, her turquoise eyes shone.

"Well…say I would want to know, then what would you say?" he said.

"Then I'd have to tell you, no, I can't tell you my name." She said looking down.

Luke stood up in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that answer. He tried to use the Jedi mind trick Ben had taught him when they were on their way to Alderan. No luck, she was much smarter than he gave her credit for.

"Why not?" he asked frustrated.

"Well, I don't really like my name…it's kind of…embarrassing." She muttered.

"Oh, that's it." Luke said smiling, "You don't have to worry," he said forcing her to look up at him, "I won't tell your secret." He said his intense blue eyes laughing.

She heaved a huge sigh. 'Alright, my name is…Laila." Her eyes flew back down, her cheeks turning a bright red.

Luke laughed out loud.

"Hey!" she shot, "It's not that funny!" she crossed her arms, waiting for him to stop.

"I…wasn't…laughing…" Luke tried to say in-between gasps of laughter. At last, he regained his stature.

"I wasn't laughing at your name, I was laughing at the thought that you _thought_ you name was embarrassing." He smiled down at her, "To tell you the truth, I think it's a pretty name. Do you know what it means?"

Luke loved seeing what people's names meant. His name didn't really mean anything interesting, some city on a far away system. But most people he came across, their names meant something cool, normally had to do with their personality.

"My name means…dark beauty." She said quietly.

"Dark beauty? You're certainly not dark, unless there's something you're not telling me." He grinned.

Laila's head flew up. "Of course not! What makes you think I'm not telling you something, there's nothing to tell!" she sputtered quickly.

"Hold it, hold it! I wasn't accusing you of anything! It's called a joke! But, I bet you don't see much of that around here do you?"

"No…" she said trying to regain her composure.

"So, where are you going anyway?" she said, trying to change the topic from her to him. She would never get the information she needed if they kept talking about her.

"Some distant system, I'm not really even sure what it's called." Luke stated, picking at a piece of lint on his tunic.

"Okay, what are you going there for?" she asked.

"Do you believe you can choose you own destiny? I mean, do you think it's right of other people to expect something of you, even if you had nothing to do with it?" he asked suddenly looking at her.

"Well…I believe no one has the right to choose someone else's destiny, if that's what you mean. You are your own, no one else can choose who you become."

Luke looked thoughtful for a minute or two, as if really taking into consideration what Laila had said.

"Good." He said at last, "That's what I hoped you would think. And I'm looking for someone, that's why I'm going to this system." He said, finally answering her question.

At that moment, Luke felt a sudden jolt through the Force. It was quick and sharp, and ended within a second or so, but it was a harsh jolt, almost like someone was angry.

"I have to go, Luke!" Laila said hurriedly.

"Wait! Why?" Luke asked, confused, not only from the jolt, but also from her scared expression.

"Uh…I have to go to the bathroom. Yeah, that's it, bathroom!" she said, an obviously made-up excuse, "You know, girl stuff." She added, just to get him to shut-up.

Luke just nodded, heat rising up in his cheeks.

Laila rushed out to the street, nearly falling on her face. She could feel his presence getting stronger. All she had to do was follow the trail the Force had left for her and she would find him.

All of a sudden she was pulled into a small alley with thick shadows.

She screamed, but a gloved hand covering her mouth muffled it.

"It's alright Padawan, it's only me. What took you so long?"

Laila sighed, relieved as she heard the familiar iron lung breathing as her Master waited for her answer.

"I'm sorry, Master, that boy you have me tracking is quite the talker." She replied.

"Well, then, what did you find out?" he asked severely.

"Not much," she said coldly, used to his tone with her, "But, I did figure out that he's going to a distant system; he didn't know the exact name. He's looking for someone. He's struggling with an internal conflict; I can feel it emanating from him." She said, proud how she had been able to detect the Force within him.

"Did you find out his name?" he asked.

"Yes, Luke. Luke Skywalker." She reported.

Laila's Master's body snapped up. That was not a name he had expected to be hearing anytime soon, if ever.

"Find out everything you can about him! And I don't care how you do it, just make sure you do!" he hissed at her.

"Yes Master, but might I ask why?" she inquired.

"No! You do not need to ask any questions! Curiosity is a Sith's undoing! Just go!" he shouted pointing back towards the supply shop where he could see Luke waiting patiently; his cheeks still crimson from his earlier embarrassment.

"Yes, Master Vader, I will find out all I can." Laila said, an evil gleam in her eye as she walked back towards her first real mission.

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Laila walked casually back to the supply shop, plots filled with dark thoughts already forming in her mind on how to receive the information her master yearned for.

Luke heard the entrance bell jingle as Laila sauntered in.

"Um…everything…okay?" he stuttered turning redder than Laila's newly constructed lightsaber.

"What? Oh, that. Yeah, it's all good." Laila smirked at her first dark deed, lying. It wasn't very extravagant, but it made her feel good. Now the next question was, whom was Luke going to go see?

"So… are you busy today?" Luke asked trying to look cool. There weren't many girls on Tatooine, so he wasn't very good at the whole ask-a-girl-out-on-a-date thing.

"Why do you want to know?" she said fluttering her eyelashes. Knowing full well what he was hinting at.

She was not making this very easy, and she knows it Luke thought in distress.

"Because, I want…I wanted to know If you wanted to go out, to lunch…with me." He said looking at his shoes.

"Like a…date?" Laila said, smiling, it was fun to embarrass Luke, and quite easy.

"Yes, I mean, if you wanted it to be, it wouldn't have to be, I mean-" the words spilled out of him much more quickly than he would have wished.

"I would be _honored_ to go out on a date with you Luke. Pick me up at noon, okay? I'll see you then!" she skipped over to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek and then flew out of the shop.

Luke felt the place where her lips had touched him and smiled a shy smile. His shy smile was soon replaced by a Han-like cocky grin. _Oh, yeah! Who's the man! Say Luke's the man! Luke's the man!_ He sang in his head.

As he was chanting his own praise he started to dance a little jig around the shop. Soon he was getting really into it and tripped over a fan belt and fell flat on his face.

Luke jumped up at once and looked around thankful Laila had already left and smiled again then walked out the door, the entrance bell ringing to inform no one in particular of his departure. But, someone was watching… and laughing hysterically.


	2. Chapter 2: Father and Son

**Hello! Two days until Christmas!! I hope you all have a spankin' Holiday, in whatever you celebrate, just remember the reason for the season, Jesus's birth!! Happy Birthday Jesus:) Enjoy, and please read and review!! your review can be my Christmas present!!! heeheehee... ENJOY!!**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 2: FATHER AND SON**

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Laila raced back the main hanger where her master was waiting.

"Well, what else did you find out?" he asked her anxiously. Even though he wore a permanent mask, she could see the anxiety in his eyes.

"Nothing," she saw his grip on the handrail tighten, "But, he is taking me out to lunch this afternoon!" she added quickly.

His strangle on the handrail loosened, and she thought she could see him smile, even behind the mask, "Good." He said slyly.

"Now however, it's time for some sparring, you do have your lightsaber, right?"

"Of course. As a wise Master of mine once said, a lightsaber is your life." She said using his most stressed quote. She pulled it out from behind her jacket and ignited it.

"Wonderful, now, let the anger flow through you, feel it coursing through your veins." As Vader said this, he was pulling out his own saber; it shone a bright blood-like red. A symbol of all the battles he had won with it. And a promise to all the battles he _would_ win.

Laila closed her eyes and thought the thought that always made her furious. Once she had signaled out that memory she flew forward at Vader and sparring like she never had before.

"Good, good!" Vader said, while blocking her quick moves. His young Padawan had never been one for meditating, but she was the most skilled with a lightsaber he had ever seen. He couldn't wait until he could test her with Palpatine, and officially make her a Sith.

One might say that Vader considered Laila his own daughter; he certainly had a close bond with her. He had kidnapped her when she was still very young, telling her though that her family had abandoned her. She reminded him of someone, with her ferocity, her determination, everything about her.

She pushed him to the back wall, never once missing a beat or a move. All of a sudden Vader jumped onto a high ledge above them and looked down at her. Laila's biggest fear was heights, and he knew it.

"Come young one! If you are to be great Sith, you must not let fear get in your way!" he said chuckling at her horror-stricken face.

"Your not chicken…are you?" he mocked her. If there was one thing Laila hated most in the entire world it was being mocked.

"NOOO!" she screamed and leaped up and attacked him with all her might. They kept fighting, each almost equal to the other. They didn't know how they went on like this but finally she had backed him all the way to the ledge he had jumped on and then suspended him in the air with the Force.

Vader looked down at the very small ship below him and then back up towards his Padawan. He could've very easily gotten himself safely to the ground, but he wanted to see what she had in mind.

"Now who's the chicken?" she said, an evil grin on her face.

"I am." Vader said, announcing his defeat.

"Yes," she said, ready to bring back to the ground when she looked down and saw a familiar blond head looking around nervously, "Luke!" she yelped and dropped her Master, running to the back so Luke wouldn't see her.

As Vader flew to the ground only one thought raced through his mind. _Luke, here! Wait, ground! AHHH!_ He stopped himself short, righted himself in the air and gracefully landed on the ground, right in front of Luke.

Luke gulped when he saw that…_man?_ He thought, not really sure what to make of this person. He was however very intimidating, and obviously very skilled with the Force. This was not someone to get on the bad side with, Luke thought, not yet realizing that the entire bad side was this man.

"Um, you wouldn't happen to know a certain Laila…" _Crap! I never got her last name!_ Luke thought angrily.

_This is MY son! But…but Palpatine said Padme had died, died! Does this mean she's still alive? Maybe she did die in childbirth. So many questions, not enough answers, wait, what did he ask me?_ Vader snapped back to attention, still in shock. He could only marvel at how much Luke looked like him. Same blue eyes, not as tall, but well-built, but wait what was that? What did Vader feel? Goodness! His son was…a…a…Jedi. Vader heaved a large sigh at his latest discovery. _No! But who could have trained him? The Jedi are destroyed! I should know, I'm the one who destroyed them!_ He thought, no sense of remorse at all in his mind.

Behind Luke's stuttering face, trying to remember if Laila had ever said hr last name, Vader saw an extremely familiar figure. It waved at him, a mock smile on its face.

"Obi-Wan!" Vader shouted.

"Obi-Wan? You know him? Or I guess I should say you knew him." Luke said quietly, looking down.

The image of Obi-Wan faded and Vader was brought into full context what Luke had said. He grabbed Luke's shoulders, "What do you mean, _knew him_?" he asked cruelly.

Luke winced under Vader's strong hands, "He was killed, murdered." He said looking up, a look of pure hatred in his eyes.

"By who?" Vader asked annoyed, shaking his son.

"The IMPERIALS! Who else? Who has caused all this pain in the galaxy! The same…the same..things who killed my family! My father! My mother! My uncle! My aunt! My friends' families! People I don't even know! Who else?" he shouted. Vader stepped back, releasing Luke from his tight grasp. Luke's _father_. _But, I'm Luke's father, who raised him? Why would I send orders to kill them?_

"Where did you live?" Vader asked.

"Tatooine, a really distant system, you've probably never heard of it." Luke said in disgust.

"You lived on Tatooine?" Vader said in awe.

"I'm here!" at that moment, Vader would have liked to strangle his Padawan. She skipped up to the two of them, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Ready Luke?" she said, oblivious to Luke and Vader's discomfort.

"Uh, yeah, let's go." Luke rushed, wanting to get out of there as quickly as he could.

"Great!" she grabbed his arm and dragged him up out towards the speeder he had rented while he was staying here.

"So where are we going?" Vader heard Laila's happy chatter slowly fade away as her and Luke moved farther and farther away from him. He had lived on Tatooine, the very place _he_ had grown up on. And now he was without a family, or so he thought. _He said the Empire had killed his father_, what did Obi-Wan tell him? Vader didn't know how or when, but he was sure going to find out. And if he could, bring his son to the Dark Side and train him, and he knew just the person to do it. He smiled maliciously as he watched the speeder fly off into the distance.


	3. Chapter 3: New Feelings

**Hey all! Happy New Year!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was on vacation, then school (gag me), homework, just being plain tired, you know the rest... This is isn't a very long chapter (none of mine really are), but I hope you enjoy anyways! Please read and review, and be sure to check out my new forum (really Kiki Firestar's, but I help moderate it).**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 3: NEW FEELINGS**

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Laila walked away with Luke a little confused. She knew something was up with the way her master looked. Even though he always wore his intimidating mask, Laila knew him well enough to read his gestures and voice. He had his mental shields up, probably so Luke wouldn't suspect anything, so she couldn't pry his mind for the answer; but she couldn't guess what in the world he could be upset about.

"Hello? Laila?" Laila whipped her head around to see Luke standing a few feet behind her with a quizzical look on his baby-smooth face.

"Why are you all the way back there?" she asked in a rather rude fashion.

"I was telling you about our date and you didn't seem like you were paying attention, so I stopped to ask you what was wrong, but you kept walking."

"Oh, did I," she said chuckling through clenched teeth, "Did I?" she asked him, a red flush working its way up her cheeks.

Luke only nodded his head. "Are you alright? Maybe we should do this another time." he started walking back towards the main deck.

"No!" Laila ran after him and caught his arm. When she pulled him around his face was inches from hers. She breathed deeply while Luke looked a little startled. He had never been this close to a girl before. He could smell the peppermint on her breath from her toothpaste. She smelled good; like a mix between baby lotion and the bakery, an intoxicating smell when the two are mixed; he inhaled quickly.

It took Laila a moment to regain an attempted dignified look. "I...I mean, no, I want to go. I'm sorry, I've just had a lot on my mind today, yeah, a lot on my mind," she said with more confidence, proud of yet another dark-deed-lie.

"You're lying to me," he said glaring down on her. Laila, mad that her plot didn't work, looked at her shoes, her eyes big. She turned her head hoping he wouldn't see the tears that were begging to stream down her face at any second. _How could I?! We haven't even started the date yet and I've already ruined my only chance at becoming a Sith! Oh, what will Master Vader say? He'll be so disappointed!_ She couldn't hold back any longer, she collapsed onto the ground, sobs shuddering through her body.

Luke sank down to the ground next to her. "Shh, shh," he murmured, "You really must have a lot going on. I'm sorry, really I am. It'll be ok. I promise. Why don't you just tell me what's wrong? I might be able to help." he made her face him, "Come on, what could it hurt?" he said smiling.

_It could hurt a whole lot!_ Laila thought. She raced through her mind trying to find some other excuse...one that would be believable to her breakdown. _Yes!_ She found the perfect one, one that was sure to be a winner.

"This...th...this," she stuttered, just for good measure, "Is the five year anniversary of my family's death." She heaved a sigh, and buried her face in her hands, willing new tears to overtake her.

Luke breathed in sharply. Still getting over his own family's death, he truly did feel for her

"Laila, I don't know what to say." or do. How do you comfort someone who's lost everything? When he had first discovered the loss of his own clan, he had had Ben there to help him. He also had the prospect of becoming a Jedi to ease the pain, something to take his mind off of it. But now Ben was gone.

Not knowing what else to do, Luke wrapped his arms around Laila and squeezed her tightly.

Laila stopped sobbing momentarily to analyze what was going on. She was surprised at how strong Luke's arms were. She could see his muscles from beneath the thin tunic he wore. He smelled incredible, the smell from his shower still fresh around him. She relaxed into his embrace, not realizing how much she enjoyed it. She felt like she could tell him everything at that moment, and he wouldn't care, and she wanted to. His bold movement made Laila see how much she craved for affection; she wanted to cry, laugh, yell, all at the same time. She leaned heavily against him, deciding that sobbing would be the best emotion to portray, as to keep up with the charade. Though Luke couldn't see, she was smiling.

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Vader stared at the spot his son had just left vacant. He had been this close to finding out more about the mysterious boy, his son.

He was so furious with Laila. Why couldn't she sense from him that she needed to stay away for just two more minutes? Vader, fuming with anger, smashed his fist into a TIE Fighter's left wing, leaving a large indent. A worker scurried away; the fear of what to come was painted clearly on his face.

Vader pulled his tight fist back, aiming at the Imperial symbol this time when he heard the sobbing. He knew who it was: Laila. He turned sharply on his heel, and walked quickly to the balcony, his cape fluttering furiously behind him.

The closer he came to the viewing, the louder the sobbing appeared. At last he reached the overlook, he hid behind the wall, so no one would see him. When he thought it was safe, he peered over to see the figures slumped on the ground. He knew who they were immediately, Luke and Laila, but why were they on the ground? And what was that Vader was feeling from his Padawan? Certainly not an emotion he had taught her. This was definitely _not_ anger and frustration, or evil thoughts, or plotting, none of the things he had instructed her to do. This, no this, this was a completely different feeling. One Vader regretted feeling as he looked at his son and recalled how far he really had fallen. He sighed as he remembered what Laila was feeling, something he too had felt at one point in time. He knew it only lead to destruction so he sent an awful picture of Laila's worst nightmare into her mind as she sobbed in Luke's arms.

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Luke rocked back and forth as he held Laila close. She had stopped crying, but she still stayed where she was. Her breathing steadied into a regular pattern and it was then that Luke came to see that she had fallen asleep. He chuckled in spite of himself.

Seeing that the date was obviously canceled, he scooped her up in his strong arms and started to walk back to the main hanger.

Laila's mind held a variety of thoughts as she had drifted off into Dream Land. She had never felt so exhausted, sleep was a blessing.

Suddenly her mind was filled with troubling memories:

"_Nooooo! Don't go! Don't leave me! Please!" the little girl trembled in the cold empty remains of her house. _

"_Come back." She whispered. She huddled in the corner, and willed to wake up from this horrendous nightmare._

More thoughts invaded her mind and she thrashed against Luke in an attempt to rid herself of whatever it was that was haunting her.

Luke hugged Laila closer trying to get her to stop squirming or else he would drop her.

While trying to regain his walk, Laila freed one of her arms and smacked Luke hard across the face.

Luke yelped and Laila woke up with a start and screamed when she found herself suspended in the air and squirmed some more. The result was Luke tripping over his own feet and falling on the newly waxed floors, bringing Laila with him.

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Vader saw his plan fully executed and grinned. He hated giving Laila those memories, but they caused the anger in her to surge, giving her the Sith-like qualities she needed. He watched Luke struggle to contain her and laughed. He knew Laila could never be contained. She was her own person, like someone he once knew. And that scared him as he watched, and felt, the bonds being made between the two young people as their embarrassment wore off and they found themselves laughing about the situation.

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**I know Laila's feelings when she's being held by Luke, they're a little intense, but you have to remember that Laila has never felt these feelings before, so they kind of hit her full blown. Just thought I should clarify, why they're so vivid. R&R please!! Have a peachy day:-)**


	4. Chapter 4: Flying Solo

**Hey all! Here's the latest update, enjoy!! And always, Read and Review:-)**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 4: FLYING SOLO **

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"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," Laila said apologetically, still in shock from her dream.

"Um, it's ok, are you sure you still want to do our date?" Luke asked her nonchalantly, still half wanting to go through with the date anyhow.

Laila opened her mouth to answer when her master appeared suddenly behind her.

"I don't know if that is such a good idea, _Luke_," Vader stated. Luke looked startled at the arrival of Vader.

"Besides, isn't that your comm link beeping?" Vader waved his gloved hand towards Luke's comlink that hung at his side, right next to his lightsaber. Vader took careful note of this; it looked all too familiar.

"What? No, I don't think so Han wouldn't-" suddenly, Luke's comm link began buzzing. Luke's eyes grew wide as he picked it up to answer.

'Uh, hello?" he spoke into the speaker.

"Kid?" Luke sighed as he heard Han's familiar nickname for him, "Why did you call me, Han?"

"I…don't…know…" Luke could only imagine Han's confused face.

"So, what happened to you and lover girl? Did you scare her off already?" Han asked, oblivious that both Luke and Laila were blushing profusely as they listened to him ramble on.

"I mean, come on Luke, even you're no that bad with the ladies. Geese Kid, that's got to be a record, it's been what 20 min-"

"Han!" Luke whispered harshly into the comm.

"Yeah Kid?"

"She's standing right next to me." He said through gritted teeth, face turning even redder.

"Oh…well, um…you…her…sorry…got to go!" Han mumbled and the comm link connection broke.

Vader chuckled , he was beginning to like this Han fellow.

"Find something funny?" Laila glared at Vader with her piercing turquoise eyes.

"Nope, nothing at all." He couldn't wait to tease about this whole thing later. _But not until after we have a little talk about what went on between them two this afternoon_, he thought in disgust. To think! His greatest accomplishment Laila, falling for a…a…Jedi! It would bring ultimate shame to everything he had worked for.

"But, I think that it's best if we cancel this little… _rendezvous _and save it for another time. Vader took his apprentice by the elbow and led her away.

Luke was left by himself, basically stood up on one of his very first date, _Gosh I suck!_ He sighed and treaded over to his ship and went back to the Rebel Base.

"Even stormtroopers aren't this difficult," he mumbled as he fired up the system and blasted off.

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Laila slouched in the chair as Vader paced back and forth in his office, lecturing her.

"…and lastly…Laila! Are you listening to me?"

"No, not really," she said not even looking up.

"Why, you, little," Vader fumed with anger.

"You little what," she challenged, standing up, "Why didn't you tell me about those kinds of…emotions? What are they, what do they mean? Come on Vader, I want answers!" she said hotly, now she was the one pacing around the office.

"You're not supposed to fell those emotions, that's why I never told you about them. And wait a sec, what did I tell you about asking questions?" Vader rubbed his hands together, _teenage hood, how I hate it!_

Laila sighed deeply, "Curiosity is a Sith's undoing, I know, I know, but this…this is different."

"How?" he asked her, he knew how, oh boy did he know how, he just wanted to see if this was another passage as to making her angry.

"I don't know!" she threw her hands up in the air.

"Do you…like him?" he asked, inching towards her.

Laila backed away and looked out the window into the expanse of what was know as space.

'I don't know! I wouldn't know what liking someone feels like," she once again stabbed Vader with death stare.

"I can't explain it to you, Laila."

"Why not?" she asked getting more and more frustrated with every second.

"I just can't, not now anyway. Besides, I've got more important news for you." He said cheerily (well, as cheerily as Darth Vader can sound).

"What?" she said, no interest at all showing on her face.

"Palpatine said that if, and only if, he thought you were ready, in a few weeks…" he paused for effect.

"He said what!?" Laila said excitedly. She knew if had something to do with Emperor Palpatine talking directly about her, it had to be good.

"He said, you might be able to test for you role as a pure Sith." Vader breathed.

An evil grin crossed Laila's face as she thought about the prospect of becoming a full-fledged Sith.

"You have to complete one mission by yourself however before he would even consider testing you."

"Anything! What is it!" she asked, eager to start with her challenge.

"You must bring Luke Skywalker to our side, have him join the Dark Side"

Laila gasped.


	5. Chapter 5: Being Sith Like

**Hey all! Hope allis going well where ever you are!**

**_Draven Star:_ Luke is 20 and Laila is 18, in time line wise, it's a little bit after A New Hope, but obviously some things have changed around a bit!**

**_elven-cat2:_ I know some things seema little bit confusing right now, but I'm going to bring it all out later in the story, why Luke doesn't know who Vader is, did he blow up the Death Star, what about Ben, or why the Empire doesn't know who Luke is, all that good stuff! LoL Hope you're enjoying anyway!**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 5: BEING SITH-LIKE**

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Laila looked at Vader, a look pure shock on her face.

"You want me to do what?"

"You must bring Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side." Vader said simply, as if it was no hard task at all.

"You must be joking! Bring _Luke Skywalker_ to the Dark Side? He's like a freakin' god to the Rebels! You know he won't even think about the Dark Side, let alone cross over to it!" she yelled, obviously still upset about her new task.

The door to Vader's office slid open suddenly and Emperor Palpatine shuffled in. He took his place besides Vader and gave Laila a stern look, "Well, if you're not up to it, then I guess you'll be a mere apprentice your entire un-Sith-like life."

"My entire life?" Laila said uncertainly. She definitely did not want to be under Vader's command her whole life.

"Yes." Vader replied, "And you'll never be real Sith, _ever_, and-"

"Leave us, Vader. I wish to speak to Laila alone." Palpatine interrupted, never taking his yellow eyes of Laila. She cringed under his gaze, never being one for sagging skin herself.

Vader looked a little startled but bowed and quietly left the room.

Palpatine took a seat behind Vader's desk and motioned for Laila to sit down in the plush chair, normally for business makings. Laila sat down hastily, not wanting to prolong this meeting any more than necessary.

"Emperor Palpatine, sir, Highness, Excellency-" she began, not knowing what exactly to call him.

"Oh, get on with it!" he said to her harshly.

"Um, yes sir! I mean, oh, whatever. I know how badly you want to bring that Skywalker kid to the Dark Side, but I'm just not sure I'm the person to do it. I mean, I'm good, but not that good. Why not have Lord Vader do it?" she suggested, half hoping he would take the bait.

"Lord Vader, eh? I don't know if that's such a good idea, Laila," he said standing up and moving around the desk to where she sat, "Let me put it this way: you don't complete this task, I ban you from being a Sith, even an apprentice, got it?" he smiled cruelly down at her.

Laila felt her cheeks burn with anger, not only was she embarrassed, but she hated that Palpatine could just order her around like that.

"And how would you suggest I go about achieving this task?" she asked through grinding teeth.

"How should I know, getting your Master was easy, all I had to do was get him to think his precious "Padme" was going to die, worked perfectly. Try it that way, use your feminine instincts." He said chuckling. If Laila had had no will power, she would have strangled him right then and there.

"Yes Master." She stalked out of the room before she did something irrational. She checked her comm. link and saw she was already late for her sparring lesson with one of Vader lackeys. She sprinted to the gym, the anger at Palpatine boiling up inside her as she burst through the door.

She ignited her lightsaber within milliseconds and was already advancing on her opponent before he had even noticed she had entered the room. The red crimson glowed off her maniacal face.

Luckily, her opponent was a quick one, and used to Laila's anger spasms. He hopped and ignited his own training saber and started blocking her blows expertly. Vader scarcely had time to dismiss his droid before the sparring had started. He smiled from beneath his mask as he felt the hatred surge through the room, all coming from Laila. He basked in its coldness. He didn't know what Palpatine had said to her, but he would have to find out. From the corner of the gym he heard Laila's comm. link beeping. He walked over and answered with a bored "hello". He froze when he heard his son's boyish voice over the intercom.

"Laila? Are you all right? You're starting to sound like that freak who was following you around all day, who is he anyway?"

"Sorry but Laila can't answer right now, however, the freak who was following her around all day can." Vader answered. He heard his son gulp.

"Um, I'm sorry! I just thought, I don't know, I'm sorry." Luke mumbled.

"It's…ok…_Luke_," Vader stressed his son's name, liking how it sounded, even in his own

electronic voice. He had a sudden yearning to know more about him, and he decided what would be the perfect way to get Laila to talk to him and complete her mission. Even he thought it was a little too much for such a young Padawan to bring someone over to the Dark Side.

"Uh, Luke, Laila's…um…washing her…hair right now, but she'd love for you to come down and chat. Maybe do lunch?" Vader waited impatiently for Luke's answer.

"Sure!" Luke said a little too excitedly. "I mean, sure, I think I could fit her in." he said a little calmer.

"Perfect! Come around 1:30 tomorrow. Don't be late." He said in a menacing tone. He dropped the conversation and placed the comm. link back in its place among Laila's things and turned his attention back to the intense spar match going on.

"Ah!" Laila shrieked and flew forward at her opponent with everything she had. She was furious with the Emperor, just what did he mean when he said, use your 'feminine instincts', had he lost it? She didn't have any feminine instincts, she was a _Sith_ for Force's sake!

Her lightsaber flashed in front of her face as she swiped it back and forth, doing spins, flips, everything to throw her opponent off; but neither one of them missed a beat. At long last, Laila had fallen to the floor, Zach, her opponent ready to strike her down when Laila did a very cool trick, one she came up with and called the "Push Kick Move".

With Zach standing above her, she Force pushed herself behind him (still on the ground) and tripped him with her right leg so he fell onto his knees. As he was falling, Laila kicked up her left leg and knocked his training saber out of his hand. She jumped in front of him and caught his saber in her left hand. She held both sabers at a cross between his head.

"Give up?" she asked cruelly, still upset with Palpatine.

"Yes," Zach replied. He waited for her to move the sabers, but she didn't, she just stood there, staring down angrily at him. At least he nervously asked her, "Could, you, uh, move the sabers?"

"What makes you think you can tell me what to do? Well, you can't!" she screamed, and before Vader could rush over to stop her, she and moved the sabers together in a slicing motion and sabered off his head.

"That will show you, _Zach_," she spat down at the now headless body. Vader looked from the lifeless body, to the lifeless head, to Laila, and back again. He couldn't believe what she had just done.

"What were you thinking?" he shook her shoulders. Laila removed herself and glared at him.

"I was doing the Sith-like thing to do. He had no right to tell me what to do, and that was his punishment, besides, its what you would have done." She countered, hands on her hips. Vader thought over what she had said. Yes, it was an impressive move, she had no remorse, which was good, overall she was correct, and it was the Sith-like thing to do. She had executed her plan, if she had had one, perfectly.

"Perfect." Vader growled.

Laila breathed heavily, sweat trailing down her face, she was still staring at Zach's decapitated form, no sadness at all over her most competitive opponent.

"Come," Vader pushed her lightly towards the hallway. He called for a medical droid to come in and clean up the mess.

As they were walking to their separate chambers, Vader decided to tell Laila of her new plans for tomorrow.

"I have arranged with young Skywalker for you two to have lunch tomorrow at approximately 1:30 pm. You should use that time to find out as much about him as you can. Leave no stone unturned, you hear? I need, I mean, you need to know as much about him as you can. Report back to me after your date and tell me what you found out." He sighed, he had almost spilt the beans, but Laila seemed to be very distant.

"Laila, did you hear me?"

"Yes! Geeze, get off my back will ya? I got it, find out as much as I can and report back to you. Anything else Your Worship?" she huffed.

Vader went through his mind to make sure there wasn't anything else, "No, just make sure you find out what happened to his family on Tatooine, and who his parents were, and how he found Ben, and-"

"Ok! Basically, just find out everything?" she smirked at her old Master.

Vader took in a deep breath, "Yes, everything. And anything that will bring him to our side, especially his dislikes and what ticks him off."

"Got it." They had come to the fork in the hallways where they would split off. As Vader walked down the left hallway he hear Laila mumbling, "Now what will I wear?"


	6. Chapter 6: Vision and a Lunch Date

**Hey all, again! Not much going on here, but I hope where ever you are you're life is somewhat interesting! Hope you all are enjoying this tory, please review, mor reviews means more chapters, so review! Please and thank you!**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 6: A VISION AND A LUNCH DATE**

* * *

"_Buzzzz, buzzzz_!" Laila slammed down on the off button of her alarm clock and rolled over, fully able to go back to sleep.

_Laila, get up! You're late for training! _Vader's voice in her head jolted Laila awake real quickly. It was not a good thing to get the most fearful man in the galaxy angry at this hour. She pulled on a pair of black sweat pants and a dark green tank top. She rushed into the fresher and speedily brushed her teeth and hair. She grabbed her lightsaber and ran off towards the gym.

Vader stood in front of the gym door, tapping his foot impatiently. He hated when Laila was late, and she was tending to make it a habit. When it seemed as though forever had gone by he saw her running down the hallway at Force speed, when she sensed his frustration her eyes widened and she halted to a stop; coming with two feet of running into him.

"Good morning?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, good morning." He huffed, "Well! Open the door and get on with it!" Vader was always saying that Laila needed to use the Force with everything that she could. She opened the door easily and rushed inside.

Vader followed at a quick pace, "Since you disposed of your contender yesterday, I have yet to find a replacement. Therefore you will have to do some training up against the battle droids."

Laila groaned, she hated going up against those dumb droids, they were so predictable. For an instant she almost regretted killing off poor Zach, _Naw, it was worth it_, she thought, a wicked grin on her face.

After about three hours of training with the battle droids (and destroying all of them) it was time for her meditation. _Even this is worse then battle droids!_ Laila could never sit still through an entire meditation setting, and normally wouldn't. She prayed that maybe this time she could at least make it through 30 minutes.

She took her place besides Vader and closed her eyes. She heard Vader mumbling as she drifted off into a deep trance, "Remember, empty your mind, focus on what's important."

Laila felt herself wondering around a familiar, yet strange place. What did it remind her of? She kept walking until she came to a large room. Large windows on the sides revealed a terrific battle going on. She strode up to the window to get a closer look; the ships were Rebel ships, she was sure of it, and the others were Imperial ships. What were they battling over?

"Take your weapon, I am defenseless, strike me down." She spun around and saw Palpatine sitting in an overstuffed chair that seemed to swallow his frail, cold body. In front of Palpatine's chair stood Vader, neither one of them seemed to notice her. Vader looked behind her, and she could sense his stress level going through the roof. She turned around and to her amazement; she saw that Luke was standing there; looking very tense. The sweat seemed to be pouring off his body as he watched the battle raging on outside. He too, didn't seem to notice her. Suddenly Luke spun towards Palpatine and Force grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it instantly.

"Good." Palpatine sneered. Luke and Vader started dueling. Laila could feel the hatred boiling up inside Luke as he attacked her master. Luke started pounding down on Vader and pushed him to the ground. And then, in one climatic move, he swiped off Vader's right hand. Laila gasped.

Luke stood breathing heavily over Vader's body. He looked curiously at his own right hand and then back at Vader. His saber, a bright green, turned off. He tossed it to the side and let it clang to the metal floor.

"You have failed Your Highness. Never. I'll never turn to the Dark Side. I am a Jedi, like my father before me." Luke stated, a look a fierce determination in his face.

Laila awoke to find herself alone in the meditating room. A few moments later Vader entered. "You're awake! I don't think I've ever seen you meditate for such a long time!"

"Exactly how long was I out, Master?" she asked cautiously.

"About four hours."

"Four hours!" Laila checked her chrono, it was already 12:30, she had to get ready for her date with Luke, and quick.

"Ah! I got to go!" she ran out of the room, a thousand thoughts racing through her head. She made it to her room by 12:45 standard time and dressed as quickly as she could. By the time she finished primping it was already 1:25 standard time. She ran out the door and onto the lift by her room and pushed the ground level button. She waited as the lift brought her closer and closer to her doom. _I can't do this!_ She almost considered going back up and feigning sickness, but the doors opened revealing a blond head and bright blue eyes staring at her.

"Laila!" Luke jumped a little. He had half expected her to stand him up after their last 'date'.

"You look…" he didn't know what to say. He could only take in her gorgeous appearance. She wore a simple navy blue dress that came to her knees, around her neck was draped various gold necklaces of different lengths. Her hair was slightly curled, pulled into a side ponytail on her left side.

Laila sighed, Luke was such a guppy! One look and he was already weak in the knees. _Maybe this won't be so hard,_ she thought.

"What won't be so hard?" Luke asked. He grinned at her startled expression. "Didn't know I could read minds did you?" he grinned again.

_Yes, as a matter of fact I did… I just forgot._ Laila put up her mental shields and took Luke's open arm and together they walked over to his ship.

He helped her in and climbed over to the pilot's seat. "Maybe this time we'll get all the way through our date." He said as he fired up the ship's engines.

"Yeah, maybe." She replied. "So where are we going?"

"One of the best spots in this system, _The Chateaux du Jedi_." He glanced over at Laila.

"What? Are you serious? There's really a '_Chateaux du Jedi'_?" now she was really confused, since when were there restaurants named for the Jedi? The Jedi had been long gone, she should know, Vader had given countless lectures on Order 66.

"Naw, just joking, but wouldn't it be cool if there was? We're really going to the _Rose Chambers_. Pretty nice from what Han's told me."

"Who's Han?"

"Han? He's my right-hand man, my best friend in the entire world. Him and his Wookie, Chewie. They helped me get off of Tatooine, rescue the Princess, you know the whole shebang?" he glanced over, before returning back to the on-going traffic in front of him.

"No, I haven't, surprisingly. I have however heard a lot about you and your close endeavors with the Empire." She smiled at him.

"We're here!" he pulled into an available parking spot and hopped out. He brushed his hair out of eyes and smiled, "Yeah, well, a guy's got to do what a guy's got to do."

They made their way up to the Host and Luke gave them his name and the Host took them to their seats.

Luke helped Laila into her chair and sat down across from her. Laila looked around, taking in her surroundings. It really was the Rose Chambers; they were in an outside patio, rose bushes everywhere. The small round tables held liquid candles with rose petal floating in them.

"It's so beautiful in here." She said, inhaling the scent.

"Yeah." Luke said, never taking his eyes off her. Laila glanced back and found herself staring into Luke's bright blue eyes. Had they always been that bright?

"Yeah." She chocked out. A waiter came and asked for their drink orders and then left them alone again.

"So," she said, trying not to look him in the eye, "Tell me about yourself. Where'd you grow up?"

"A remote system called Tatooine, very sandy, very hot, you don't ever want to go there." He said leaning back in his chair. Laila nodded, although she had had been to Tatooine, many times with her Master, she briefly wondered if she had ever seen him there.

"Why did you leave?"

"It's pretty complicated," he said, his light eyes darkening, "Maybe some other time, ok?" he said.

"Yeah, some other time." She wondered what could have happened, Luke seemed like a pretty open guy, he didn't seem like one for secrets.

"Well-" Laila began when she was surprised by a large thump on her back.

"Luke! Didn't I tell you this place was great?" Laila tuned around to see a toothy smile from whom she could only assume was the infamous Han Solo.

"Han! What are you doing here?" Luke's face brightened as he stood up to greet their unexpected visitor.

"Han! Luke! Don't be so loud!" hissed a very flushed Leia as she walked up to Han and Luke.

"Sorry, Your Worship." Han pulled her into a hug and grinned evilly down at Laila.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." Mumbled Leia from beneath Han's strong arms. She disentangled herself and stood beside Han in a very dignified manner.

"And what do we have here?" Han asked as Laila rose to stand beside Luke. This was very uncomfortable. She had heard stories about the infamous trio; she never thought she would be able to stand next to any of them without thrusting a lightsaber into their sides.

"I'm Laila." She smiled warmly and forced herself to shake Han and Leia's hands.

"Hello." Leia said, eyeing the new girl suspiciously. There was something about her that she couldn't quite place.

"Uh, Luke, could I talk to you for a second?" Leia asked.

"Sure, Leia. Han, don't try to bore my date to death while I'm gone will ya?" he turned around at Laila. "I'll be right back, promise. Don't let Han scare you, he's really just a big softy." He whispered in her ear.

"Hey!" Han protested from the table. Luke turned to Leia but on impulse went back and gently kissed Laila on the cheek before turning away. Laila sat down slowly, still feeling the warmth of his lips on her skin. She barley heard Han start rambling off the numerous faults of his 'great' ship.

Luke followed Leia to the front room. "What is it Leia?" he could sense something troubling her.

"It's…her, Luke. I don't trust her. There's something about her." She said cautiously.

Luke laughed and pulled Leia into a hug. "Is that all? Force! I thought you were going to tell me the Rebels had surrendered or something! Leia, there's nothing wrong with Laila. You just don't like the idea of me seeing someone, do you?" he said looking down on her.

"No," she said pulling away, "I just, I don't know, just be careful with her, ok?"

"Ok, I promise." He said, still chuckling a little. "Now let's go make sure Han isn't scaring her half to death." The both laughed and walked back to the small table.

"…and then in the South Passage, Leia said, or should I say, Leia did-"

"Han!" Leia said sharply.

Han looked up and blushed at being scolded by his own girlfriend. He grinned at Laila, "Guess we'll have to finish _that_ story a little later. See you later Kid. Oh, and your rib, perfection!" he got up and followed Leia to their table across the room.

"Kid? That's an interesting nickname," Laila noticed as Luke sat down, "I hope you don't mind, but I ordered for you, Han said you liked rib."

"I do, thanks. About the nickname, I try not to make it publicly known, but Han was never one for breaking old habits." A broad grin broke over his face as he saw Han and Leia bickering about what kind of wine to get. Laila turned their way and laughed with him.

"They sure do make a pair, don't they?"

"Yep, good ol' Han and Leia." He said as he dug eagerly into his rib.

The rest of the lunch went by without any interruptions and Laila found herself actually having a good time. The more she found out for Vader, the more she liked Luke, which was treading in dangerous waters, but she chose to ignore it. _Just for today,_ she promised herself.

At last the meal was over and it was time to go home. They got back into Luke's ship and flew back towards home.

They landed into a deserted landing platform and Luke walked Laila over to the lift.

"I had a really good time with you today, Laila. You're easy to talk to, like you're really taking everything I say in," _If you only knew the half of it,_ she thought. He continued on, "Maybe we could do it again, maybe dinner, or, whatever." His nervousness was back and it showed considerably. Laila giggled, she liked seeing the great Jedi get so nervous about just asking _her_ out on a date.

"Sure, what about Wednesday?"

"Sounds good to me." He said softly, "I can't wait." He stood there for a moment just looking at her and then, mustering up all the courage he could, he leaned in and kissed her.


	7. Chapter 7: Good with the Bad

**Hey all! Sorry I ahven't updated in a while,I kinda got a bad case of writer's block. I had this whole chapter lined out, I just couldn't get it down on the computer. Ahywho, hope you'll enjoying this story as muchas I am writing it!**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER7: THE GOOD WITH THE BAD**

* * *

"Sounds good to me." He said softly, "I can't wait." He stood there for a moment just looking at her and then, mustering up all the courage he could, he leaned in and kissed her.

A million thoughts raced through Laila's mind. She felt like she could fly. Luke's lips were soft against her own, but all too quickly it ended and he pulled back. He smiled, still a little amazed at his own bravery.

"I'll see you Wednesday." He whispered and walked away.

"Wednesday, can't wait." She said to herself. She got into the lift. She smiled shyly, reliving the kiss. She looked out the window on the lift and saw Luke in the hanger. He was dancing, just like he was in the supply shop. And as last time, he tripped and fell flat on his face. He picked himself up, and cheeks red, ran back to his ship before he could embarrass himself anymore. Laila laughed out loud, _what a klutz! But, a cute one at that._ She looked down at the pink rose poking out of her purse that Luke had picked for her as they had left the restaurant.

This was going to be interesting.

The lift finally got up to her level and opened its doors; she stepped out and was greeted by a very anxious-looking Darth Vader.

"Well? How did it go?" he said. His hands were twisted together tightly, "Tell me everything!" he followed her to her room.

"It went fine, and why do you want to know? Isn't this my mission?" she said eyeing him suspiciously.

"Yes…but I just want to help you. You know how badly I want you to be a Sith."

"I know. I actually found out a lot, except I didn't find out why he left Tatooine, he seemed pretty secretive about it." She said changing in the fresher into lounging pants and a t-shirt.

"What about his family? Did he say anything about them?"

"Yeah, something about living with his aunt and uncle. I think he said his parents died when he was born. His father was apparently a Jedi who was murdered by a "former Jedi", whatever that is, his mother died in childbirth. Pretty sad if you ask me." She sat down on the couch and started flipping through channels on the Holonet.

"What exactly did he say about his father?" Vader asked, trying to sound nonchalant and all.

She turned to face him on the couch.

"You should have seen him, Master. When he talked about his dad I mean. His eyes just lit up into the most brilliant blue. For a guy who never knew his father, he sure has a lot of respect for him. He spoke about him like he was Emperor of the Galaxy himself. He told me all about building things and tinkering around, just because he knew his dad liked it. And learning how to be a pilot, even though his uncle forbade him too, all because he felt it made him closer to his dad. And all this Jedi business, his dad. And that's one of the reasons he's becoming a Jedi, he wants to seek revenge on whoever killed his father. Who that is, don't ask me." She turned back to the HoloNet, seeing in her head Luke's face as he chattered happily about how great his father was.

Vader sat there, stunned. What had his son been told? He had made sure the name Darth Vader was never spoken around the boy, even in the Rebel bases, so he knew nothing about Vader, but who had "killed him"? _And what will he think of me when he learns the truth?_ Vader asked himself. _He'll hate me._ Vader found himself actually found himself getting a little emotional at the thought of Luke hating him. At least now Luke loved him, looked up to him, wanted to be like him, and respected him, even if what he thought was untrue. He had to find a way to contact Obi-Wan and find out what Luke had been told about his parentage.

"MASTER!" Vader came back to his senses by Laila screaming at the top of her lungs; he could feel the anger boiling up inside her.

"WHAT?" he thundered back.

"I WAS JUST TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT I'M GOING OUT WITH HIM AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY! FOR FORCE'S SAKE! DON'T YOU EVER LISTEN!?" she shouted, clearly upset. About what, Vader had no idea. Laila ran out of the room and slammed the door to her private quarters.

Vader sighed, "All those raging hormones… been there done that, don't want to go there again." A chill ran down his spine as he thought about this kind of attitude happening again.

On the plus side she was seeing Luke again! More of the information he yearned for. In the meantime he would try to find a way to contact his old Master and see what Luke had really been told.

* * *

Wednesday could not come fast enough. For Luke or Laila.

"Luke?" Han waved a hand in front of his friend's face as they ate lunch at the Rebel base on Hoth.

Luke had been thinking about his lunch date with Laila, the way she looked, talked, ate, everything. He still hadn't heard Han when he felt himself being shaken quite furiously but an annoyed Leia.

"Hello, you nerf-hearder? Are you there?" she said shaking him harder with every syllable. She sat down in between Luke and Han and picked up her fork.

"What's with you lately," she said with a stuffed mouth; ever since spending more time around Han, she had become less princess-like in manor and more smuggler-like, "You're thinking about her aren't you?" she said setting her fork down and looking at him.

"What? Yeah sure, I'll go check on the new droids." Luke got up from the table and threw his plate away then walked absent-mindedly from the cafeteria.

Han chuckled in spite of himself, then abruptly stopped when he saw the ferocious glare he was getting from Leia.

"What is it with him? It's only a girl." She said, the disgust clear on her face.

"He's in love Leia, you can't blame him. It's Luke; it's all new for him. At least let him enjoy it, no matter how strange the girl." He said muttering the last part.

Leia snapped up from her lunch, "You think there's something odd about her too?" she asked, suddenly in-tuned to what Han had to say.

"Yeah…" Han said.

"Well? What do you think? Do you think she's dangerous? I mean, she may some pathetic girl who thinks she deserves Luke, but she could be, couldn't she?" she looked up at Han, her brown eyes big with concern.

Han stood up from the table and looked down at Leia. "I think you need to get some rest and let Luke worry about Luke." He said noting the dark circles under her eyes.

"But Han, I know that 'Laila' girl just isn't right for him, she's…different, I can just sense it." She said trying to keep up with his brisk stride as he strode out of the lunchroom.

Han turned around and grabbed her shoulders gently, but still with force. "Leia, I'm just as worried about him as you are, you didn't meet him when I did. He was so young and naïve, and now he's a Jedi! A Jedi with a girlfriend! But we have to let him live his own life." He said staring into her Hershey-chocolate brown eyes.

"Han," Leia said with new firmness in her voice. She removed his hands from her shoulders and rose herself to up to her full height, still a good head and a half shorter than him, and looked him square in the eye, "I want Luke to be happy, trust me I do! But, with her, it just doesn't seem right." she paused now staring into his eyes, "and just for the record, you didn't know that much longer than I did!" she smiled playfully.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a short nap before world-shattering disaster happens." Her smile faded as she realized how true her words were. _Father_, she sighed, missing her father immensely as she walked off to her room.

* * *

Laila stepped off the lift and look around for Luke. She was 7 minutes early, but she thought her of all people would be one for punctuality. Her eyes scanned the hanger in search of him, when suddenly two hands covered her face. Laila stood stock still as she prayed her captor wouldn't take Luke too.

"Guess who?" a the captor said in her ear. Laila let out the huge breath she had been holding and turned around to se a smiling Luke's face.

"Don't do that again!" she said playfully slapping his arm.

Luke laughed, his blue eyes sparkling, "You should've seen how quickly your entire body tensed up, like I was the Emperor or something, out to get you! Funny stuff." His boisterous laugh fading out to a mere light chuckle.

She glared at him and his light chuckling stopped just as quickly as it had started, "Uh, ready to go?" he held out his arm and both of them walked over to his ship.

"So where are we going today?" she asked, examining the ship trying to see if it would give her any information for her Master.

"We are going out for ice cream." He stated simply.

"Ice cream?" she asked him

"Yes, on Tatooine, there aren't any ice cream stands and I've never had it before. But I've heard from Leia and Han it's to die for. So, what do you say?"

"You've never had ice cream?" she said shocked. Even Lord Vader had treated her to the simple triple chocolate-mocha- sundae with hot fudge, brownie, cherries, and sprinkles every once and a while.

Luke shook his head looking very mournful.

"Well, I guess we can go then. Haven't had a good ice cream cone in a while." She smirked at Luke and then stared out the window. She had noticed that Luke wasn't one for talking when he was flying. She decided now to ask him about it.

"You don't seem to be much of a talker. When you're flying I mean." Luke turned from the ongoing traffic they were stuck in.

"No, not really. I don't know, it's almost peaceful when I'm flying. Like no one can stop me. I don't know, I just like to think when I'm flying that's all. Sometimes I get so caught up in what I'm think not to even remember that there are other people in the ship."

He sighed, lost in his own thoughts and looked out the window.

"What do you think about?" Laila asked turning to look at him.

'Lots of stuff really," he said still gazing out the window, "My family, Leia, Han, what will happen tomorrow, if the Empire will ever be defeated," he paused and turned to meet her eyes, "You."

Laila blushed, "Me?"

Luke grinned as he saw her cheeks flush red, "Yes you! I like it when I think about you. You make me forget about my problems. It's like when I think about you or are with you, I'm in a new place away from everything here." He swept his hand across the dashboard.

"Really? I mean, yeah, I think about you a lot too," _not for the same reasons, well, some of the same reasons_ she thought thinking about her conversation with Master Vader the other night.

Finally the traffic started to move again and both Luke and Laila were gone in their thoughts, mainly about each other. At last they reached the ice cream stand. It was a cute little building with a colossal ice cream cone on its roof.

As they walked into the shop Laila glanced up nervously at the one-scoop vanilla cone swaying in the wind above her. Luke took her hand, "Don't worry, if it falls over, I'll move you out of the way." He whispered in into her hair. Laila smiled as she felt Luke's strong hand in hers as they decided what they wanted.

After taking forever to order, Luke finally decided on a Double chocolate cookie dough brownie sundae with all the toppings. Laila decided on a slightly less blood clotting choice of a double scoop strawberry waffle cone. They sat down at a table in the back corner. Luke had wanted to be away from everyone. In fact as soon as they had sat down he had seemed very nervous. Almost like he was when he had first asked her out.

"Luke, are you alright?" she asked as he devoured his sundae. He looked up, a ring of chocolate around his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why do you ask? Man! This ice cream concept rocks!" he said hurriedly

"Well, first off, wipe your mouth," she said laughing as Luke blushed and picked up his napkin and wiped his face clean, "and second, you seem really nervous. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Luke sighed as he pushed what very little of his sundae was left and looked down and the melted ice cream on the table.

"There is something I want to ask you, but I'm not sure if I can."

Laila took his hand and forced him to look at her. "Luke, you can ask me anything." She said, her turquoise eyes shining with sincerity. She could see he was really debating if he should ask her. It must be fairly important, so she had to be sure he asked her.

"Ok. Here it goes. Laila…I want to start training you in the ways of the Force. I want you to become a Jedi."

Laila dropped his hand.


	8. Chapter 8: To Know Your Foe

**Hey all! Here's the latest chapter. Things are going to get pretty intersing in the next few chapters, so I hope you all enjoy. Just a little tidbit, of info on my daily life. I hate Social Studies, at least right now. Or maybe it's just the teacher... have to think that over. Oh well! As always, please revew:-)**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 8: TO KNOW YOUR FOE**

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"You…want…to what?" Laila asked in confusion.

"I want to train you in the ways of a Jedi." Luke said looking slightly embarrassed.

"I don't think so." She said as she got up from the tiny table.

"Wait!" Luke scrambled up, tossing a longing glance at the leftover ice cream. Laila reached the parking lot and began calling for a cab.

"Laila! Wait! You have to understand _why _though!" he grabbed her arm and spun her around, much like she had, a mere week earlier.

"Why would you want to train me as a Jedi!? They don't even exist anymore!" she yelled at him.

His grip on her arm tightened considerably, "The Jedi _are not _dead. I'm going to make sure of that." His bright eyes darkened a little as he glared down at her.

"I'm sorry, it's just, I can't be a Jedi, I can't even use the Forcey thing they need!" she said, a little shaken by his quick change in mood; she made a mental note to bring up the failure of the Jedi to get him ticked off.

His let his arm drop and his once again blue eyes started at her, "You see, that's where you're wrong. You see, the other day, when I read your mind, you put up what's called 'mental shields'."

"I did?" she mentally slapped herself for being so foolish, how would she explain that? But she didn't have to, Luke did all for her.

"So, I did some research, and it turns out, people who have never been Force-trained, but are Force-sensitive, can subconsciously do that sort of thing. I bet you had no idea you had done that, did you?" he said smiling at her.

"Nope, no idea!" she heaved a sigh of relief that the Jedi actually believed crap like that. But that still didn't solve her problem.

"Luke, I don't know. I'll have to think about it. Can we just go home now?" she asked suddenly very uncomfortable at the present situation.

Luke sighed and glanced at the on-going traffic then back at her desperate look. "Yeah, sure." He said raking a hand through his hair.

Laila stood outside of Vader's office, her palms sweating at the news she had to tell him. She knew he could sense her and her anxiety so it's not like she could turn around and do this later. Force, she hated the Force sometimes!

After waiting for what seemed like hours she turned the black doorknob and cautiously entered his office.

Thick black carpet went floor to ceiling on all three walls. The fourth wall, behind Vader's desk was a huge window that overlooked the vast emptiness of space. His desk was pure white, not a scratch of imperfection on it. Everything was perfectly organized, down to how his pens were arranged in the pencil cup.

"No, no, I want that shipment here by tomorrow and I don't care who loses a job in the process!" Vader screamed into the phone. There was some groveling on the other end; Vader drummed his fingers impatiently on the smooth desk.

Laila, seeing he was busy turned to leave.

_Stay put. I'll be done in a moment._ She heard Vader say to her through the Force.

She turned back around and strode over to the stiff chairs and sat down.

"I don't care about your mother's death wish! Get the shipment here by tomorrow!" he slammed the phone down and furiously scribbled something down on the shipment order on his desk.

"Now, what is it my young learner?" he asked her in a much calmer tone.

"It's about my mission, Master. Something's gone wrong." She said slowly.

Vader sat upright. "Wrong? What could possibly have gone wrong?" he replied quickly.

"Well, you see Master, I accidentally put my mental shields up and Luke felt it, so now he knows I can use the Force, but doesn't know I'm a Sith, but now he wants to train me as a Jedi and I don't know what to do! And please don't tell the Emperor!" Laila said hurriedly, almost falling out of her chair.

"Splendid." Vader said.

Laila looked at him, incredulous, "Splendid? How can that be splendid?"

"Didn't I ever tell you how I became such a powerful Sith?"

"No, but I have a feeling I'm going to find out…" she mumbled. She hadn't meant for this to be lecture hour. She scrunched down in her chair as Vader stood up from his.

"The reason the Emperor wanted me so badly was because I was so powerful, as you are. But I had one thing he didn't. I knew the ways of the Jedi. It pays to know your foe. If you know how they train and what they go for, and their weakness, things they skim over in training, you know exactly what to go for, how to anticipate their moves, etc., etc."

"So what does your 'greatness' have to do with Luke wanting me to be a Jedi?" she asked, the sarcasm dripping off her voice.

"Because, if you know how he fights, if there's ever a final battle to bring him to our side, you'll know what to expect and how to better fight back." He said through gritted teeth.

"So, you _want _me to train as a Jedi?" she asked still questioning his strategies.

"Yes. So go call lover boy now, and tell him training starts tomorrow. Afterwards, you will come to me to show me what you've learned. Got it?" he said, already waving her out of the door.

"Yes, Master. And he's _not _my lover boy. So shove it." She yelled over her shoulder as she walked back to her room.

Vader closed the door and slowly walked back to his desk. He was getting too old for this. He picked up the data pad a droid had brought in a few minutes ago and popped it into his computer. He watched as Luke and Laila talked about everything under the sun on their first date. He saw them riding in silence to the ice cream stands, felt their emotions. Laughed at Luke taking forever to order. Felt a pang of loss when his son ordered the same thing he had ordered when he had gone there so many years ago. He paused the tape on his son's face, studying it to the closest detail. He was smiling, blue eyes lit up at whatever Laila had been saying, chocolate ring around his mouth. Vader saw himself as a younger man, a Jedi man. Luke obviously was his own image, but as seen through the tapes, he had his mother's personality, her generosity, ability to sucker anyone into anything, her calming presence; everything about him screamed Anakin and Padme.

He saw the way Luke looked at Laila, the baby girl he had kidnapped and watched grow up. He saw the way she laughed when he told the most idiotic jokes. She was wrong; he was her lover boy. Vader sighed and turned the data pad off. _Now what?_ He thought in panic.

Laila made her way back to her room and turned on her comm. link and called Luke.

"Hello?" Luke's face flashed up on Laila's comm. link. He rubbed his head with a towel; he had just gotten out of the shower and was still shirtless. Laila's eyes got the best of her and wondered up and down his toned chest.

"Laila, is that you?" Laila snapped her eyes up to meet his and nodded, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Yeah. Listen, Luke, I wanted to talk to you about that whole Jedi thing. I decided…I want to do it."

Luke smiled broadly and sat down on the arm of an old chair, "Great! I'm glad you decided to go though with it. We could use all the Jedi we could get. And it means I get to spend more time with you." He said quietly.

"Yeah…can't wait. So, how about I meet you…wherever you are at 5 am sharp? Or is that too early for you, Skywalker?" she smirked.

Luke groaned inwardly, it was too early, but he wasn't going to let her see it, "Nope, not at all! Meet me at the gym, right next to the shop where we met, ok? I'll see you then!" he smiled one last time then cut off the connection.

Laila sat back in her chair, excited and scared beyond belief about tomorrow. She decided to get to bed early, she had a long day ahead of her…

Laila walked into the gym, eyes darting around for Luke. She saw him sitting outside a private room, for therapy sessions. His eyes met hers and he ran over to her.

"Good morning!" he said cheerfully, he had made sure to drink _a lot_ of coffee before he got here. "Ready to begin the next stage of your life?" he pulled her into the room. It was padded with thick mats in case of accidents, precisely why he had reserved this room.

She walked in front of him and surveyed the room. Her eyes were still getting used to the bright lighting when Luke caught her hand, she turned to look up at him. She may be powerful, but she was short. She made even Luke look tall against her.

"Thanks for doing this, Laila. I know it must be hard for you." He said, his voice low.

"Well-" she got cut off when Luke bent towards her and kissed her. Laila felt her mind go blank as her arms wrapped around his neck and his arms went around her waist.

He leaned into her, deepening the kiss. She leaned back and twisted her hands into his hair, not fully knowing what she was doing.

Luke pulled back, his breathing heavy "I think we should get started." He whispered into her hair. He walked over to his bag and pulled out two training sabers.

Laila stood stock still, her breaths ragged. _What am I doing?! _Her mind screamed. Yet no matter how hard she tried to tell herself what had just transpired between them had been wrong, she couldn't help but smile when she remembered how his lips had felt against hers, or how good his hair felt as it ran through her fingers. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself.

"Ready?" Laila twirled around and caught the training saber Luke threw her. He showed her how to ignite it and a few stances and then thought they were ready to test them out.

Laila closed her eyes, trying to make herself calm so as not to go all Sith on him. She mirrored Luke's positions and blocked his blows expertly; just like a Jedi. She now saw Vader's point in learning how your enemy fought. She smiled at Luke's stupidity for a brief moment before laughing has he tripped over his untied shoe.

"Are you ok?" she chuckled as she sat down beside him.

"Yeah. I'm a pretty bug klutz aren't I?" he said laughing at his own befuddlement.

"Have you had enough today, Skywalker?" she said noting the time, 10:30 am, almost 6 hours of training in one morning, and she still had Vader to answer to.

"I think so. You're pretty amazing, you know? I've never seen anyone catch on so quickly." He stated smiling at her.

"And how many Jedi have you trained exactly?" she asked sarcastically.

"Well, none, but if I had, you'd be the best." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She looked over surprised and he kissed her again, this time on the mouth. It was short lasted as Luke's comm. link went off. He broke off the kiss and sighed. He jumped up and answered.

After a few moments her came grumbling back to Laila.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

"No," he said pushing a hand through his hair, "Some Imperial droids have been spotted and Leia wants me and Han to go check it out. I had wanted to take you out to brunch, but looks like we'll have to save that for next time. Is that ok?"

"Yeah it's fine. I have to get back anyway, I've got some…errands to run." She said standing up.

"Great." He smiled and grabbed their bags and walked out to his speeder. He insisted on giving her a ride home since he had to cut their day short, and she agreed.

Their silence filled the car again as they got caught in traffic, again. Laila leaned heavily against the window, clearly worn out. In a few moments she was fast asleep.

Luke looked over at her sleeping form and smiled lightly. His hand swept over her face and brushed a few stray hairs out of her eyes.

They arrived at the main hanger where he would drop off Laila. He didn't want to wake her up though. He glanced at her again, and around the hanger; it was deserted.

He bent down and brushed his lips up against hers, "I think I may be in love with you Laila." He said, his voice barely audible. He stared at her a moment longer, memorizing her form, loving how the sunlight played off her body then gently woke her up. She grumbled awake and looked at him drowsily.

"Did I fall asleep?" she asked warily.

"Yes, but, you needed it. I'll call you when I get a free morning to continue, ok?" he laughed lightly and kissed her one last time as she stumbled out of the speeder towards the lift.

Laila rode up the lift, watching Luke's speeder fly off. Her hand flew up to her cheek.

"I think I may be in love with you, too" she whispered

And that thought alone scared her to no extent.

* * *

**Hey again, just wanted to let you all know, in either the next chapter, or the one after that, it will go about a year into the future. If anyone has any objections, just send me an e-mail! Please review:-)**


	9. OneYear Summary

**Hey all! This is just a little one-year summary of what's been going on. Cuz' if I was going to write all this out, I would never get anywhere with this story:-) Alot has happened in one year, and this doesn't really go in-depth to character's feelings and such, but you'll get to see it in the next chapter! Well, have fun reading as we time travel! Never failing to forget: please review:-)**

**And now for...**

**ONE-YEAR SUMMARY**

_

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One-Year Later Summary:_

_As the months moved on, Luke continued teaching Laila the ways of the Jedi, and then in turn, Laila would show Master Vader what she had learned. Growing stronger in the Force with every passing day, thoughts of good and evil flooded her mind. Also the curiosity of why her Master was always asking about Luke. _

_Laila also began taking some meditation lessons from Emperor Palpatine, much to her dismay, and began receiving very strange visions. Her most frequent one was of a young married couple, a man with blonde wavy hair and intoxicating blue eyes, the woman had dark curls and deep brown eyes. The vision would start out peacefully but soon turn to a nightmare when the young women was on the ground, convulsing, clutching her throat, there the dream would turn and end with the young woman dying in child labor giving birth to twins. Laila would wake up sweating every time she had this dream. She couldn't help but feel a connection to the strange family. They mostly occurred after a grueling session with Luke. Her visions contained scenes from the dusty planet she could only assume was Tatooine, a heavily thicketed planet with flowing waterfalls and open meadows. Always containing the same strange couple, and always confusing Laila beyond belief. _

_Luke and Laila grew closer and soon began having lessons at the Rebel Base. For some reason, Laila never told Vader that's where she went, only "training with Luke". Han and Leia still had their suspicions, yet whenever they tried to confront Luke, he would flare up and storm away muttering things like,"You don't understand" or "You can't stand to see me happy"._

_Meanwhile, Laila would receive heat from Vader about why the mission was taking so long, where in turn she would storm off muttering things like "It's not that easy" or "It's different for me". Laila's dark side became more apparent after a few days of not being able to see Luke. In one case, she sabered off 3 TIE fighter's right wings. _

_Luke and Laila's only consolation to life was each other. Laila always did have her mission in her head, always trying to find out more, but the more she knew Luke, the less she could see him becoming a Sith. At one point she almost thought about joining the Jedi, but remembered the power of the Force flowing through her whenever she was one with the darkness. It was exhilarating, and she vowed she would never give it up for anything._

In the next chapter we catch up with Lord Vader looking over some old tapes, from the very first training session of Luke and Laila, and boy does he get a surprise at what he finds…


	10. Chapter 9: The Breaking Point

**Hello, long time, no chapter, I know. This chapter isn't very long, in fact it's only like 700 words, not even. But, I felt it left a good cliffhanger where it was so, here you go. It's Spring Break here but it's in the like the 60s, not cool. Esp. if you're in the South where it should be in the 80s this time of year... My latest obbsession is Peter Pan, so that may be why I haven't been writing a lot lately, but do not fear! I have no intention of shutting down this story. **

**So after my considerably (sp?) long rant I will leave you to your reading. As always, please read and review:-)**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 9: THE BREAKING POINT**

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"Relax, young Apprentice, become one with the Force." Emperor Palpatine rolled his eyes to the back of his head, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Uhhh! This is so _pointless_! I'm one with the Force when I'm in combat, not like this!" she stuck in finger out at Palpatine's calm pose, "And I am NOT your Apprentice!" she reached for the doorknob that lead to her freedom when she found that she could not move her feet, or any part of her body for that matter.

"You'll do wise not to upset me." Palpatine responded, his eyes still closed.

"Let me go!" Laila screeched her head swiveling around to toss dirty looks at his still form.

"Get yourself out. You see," he said standing up and pacing in a circle around her, "This is what meditation can teach you. You see how I can hold you without extending my hand, or whatever the _Jedi_ do." He spat out the word _Jedi_ like it was vermin in his mouth.

"Fine! I will!" She closed her eyes and felt rage build up within her. She focused it all on the wicked man in front of her. She imagined her anger tightening into a small ball and then exploding. As the ball exploded she rushed forward out the door and promptly ran into a storm trooper with a data pad in his hand.

"Excuse me Lady Laila. My mistake." He said humbly as he helped her off the ground. He handed the data pad to the smirking Emperor and walked stiffly away back to his duties.

"If you'll excuse me, Laila, I believe I have some work to get to…. so be gone." He smiled a sickly smile and shooed her away.

"Oh, and Laila?" Laila turned around flashing him her death stare, "Yes, _Emperor_?"

"Watch your step, wouldn't want to run into anything again!" he broke up in laughter as he stepped back into his office.

Laila face fumed with anger as she stalked off, she needed to get rid of some of this energy. She saw Vader walking down the hallway and she saw the perfect outlet.

"Vader! Gym, five minutes!" she ran off to her room to grab her saber.

_She really needs to get it into her head that the MASTER decides when to spar and when not to. At least in the days of the Old Republic, Padawans had respect for the Masters. Master Obi-Wan…_His thoughts reminded him that he still needed to find a way to contact that old man and receive the information he craved. But, now some sparring.

Vader ducked aside from one of Laila's killer blows. It seemed everyday she was getting stronger and stronger. She had the strength to be a Sith now, even the Emperor saw that, but he insisted that she complete her mission to even consider being a Sith.

It angered Vader when he saw how she seemed to be taking her sweet time in completing the mission. He pushed back harder causing her to stumble. The spar ended with both Laila and Vader heaving over breathing deeply.

"Good work, Laila. That will be all for today." Vader told her.

"No more." She said looking up at him, her face gleaming with sweat.

"No more what?" he cocked his head in confusion.

"No more meditation sessions with the Emperor. I can't take it anymore! He's psycho, thinking all that meditation stuff works!" she shouted, her voice rising in volume with every word.

"I'm sorry, but no. You can't do that. Meditation is extremely crucial point in being a Sith. You'll-" he stated, trying to be calm. He didn't like the tone she was using with him.

"Well what if I don't want to be a Sith!? Huh? What if I don't want any of it?!" she spat.

Vader stumbled backward. What had she just said? Laila's eyes went wide and her hand flew up to her mouth as she processed what she had just said. She fell onto the ground.

Faraway came the sounds of blaster shots and much screaming and yelling...


	11. Chapter 10: Catch and Release

**Hay all! I know, it's been forever since I've updated!! I'm so sorry! This chapter was surprisingly hard for me to write. Oh well, school was also coming to a close, you know, finals, yearbooks, end-of-school dances, the whole shebang, so not much time to write. I promise I'll try to update sooner! One other side note, if anybody has anything they'd like to send me in regards to the story, feel free too, fans are what keep the story going! And as always, please read and review!**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 10: CATCH AND RELEASE**

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"Get away from her, you black-cloaked maniac!" Han flew into the gym with his blaster firing off with the speed of a machine gun.

Vader, quickly taking in the situation, fell to the floor in a mock death, adding a few withering spasms for good measure, before finally lying still on the gym floor.

Laila rubbed her eyes, did that really just happen? She stared at Vader; her legs sprawled out on the floor, her mind barley taking in the gym as it filled with Rebel soldiers. Her Sith lightsaber (that is, the one she used to train with Vader, her other, a bright purple, was in her quarters for training with Luke) was lodged in the wall where she'd thrown it moments earlier.

Han looked at the dark Sith Lord on the floor then back to his blaster. A smirk only Han could pull off crossed his face and he blew on the top of the blaster and spun it back into the holster on his hip. Leia came rushing in with a fresh supply of troops.

"Laila!" she cried as she rushed up to the bewildered teen. She shook her shoulders, "Laila! Laila! Are you okay? Can you hear me!?"

"Leia?" Laila said groggily as Leia's two heads slowly formed into one. She looked into Leia's worried eyes and snapped into attention. _They can't know what I'm really doing here, quick, Laila, think of a _lie

"Leia! You're here!" He exclaimed. "Thank the Force! I never thought I'd live to see any of you again!" she threw her arms around Leia and hung on for dear life. She saw Vader give her a thumbs up from his "dead" position.

"It's ok, Laila. You're safe now," she patted Laila's back soothingly, "Han! Get over here!" she yelled, not to soothingly to Han who was still admiring his handiwork and firing at the exceeding number of storm troopers rushing in. He turned to Leia's voice and ran over to her and Laila.

"What's she doing here? I thought that was her I heard screaming, and then I saw the black freak over there," he gestured over to Vader who was being examined by some brave Rebels (but from a safe distance), "with a saber in his hand and I just started firing. Pretty good aim if I say so myself." He cocked a grin again.

"Very funny, just get her out of here and into the Hawk, Eagle, or whatever piece of junk you call a ship. And call Luke immediately." She handed Laila over to Han who scooped her up as he glared at Leia.

"Alright Your Worship. And for your information, that 'piece of junk' is called the _Millennium Falcon_, and without it Sweetie, we wouldn't be here."

"I don't care what it is, just get her out of here!" Leia screeched.

Han ran out of the room, skillfully avoiding the many blaster shots that were being aimed at him.

"It's ok, Laila, everything's all right. We'll call Luke as soon as we can." He mumbled into her hair as he sprinted to the ship.

"Well, what was she doing there?" Luke paced back and forth on the Holo as he tried to take in what Han was telling him.

"Kid, I don't got all the answers, she's barely said a word since we got to the ship. She looked pretty shaken up." He said as he ran a hand through his hair. He searched the windows, anxiously looking for Leia; she should have been back by now.

Luke's expression softened, "Can I talk to her?" he asked gently.

Han smiled, "Sure." He walked into Leia's room where Laila was, "Hey, Kid #2, I got somebody who's real anxious to talk to you."

Laila looked up. Who could want to talk to her? An image of blond hair and blue eyes came to her head. She stood up, "Luke." She said. Han nodded and she rushed to front of the ship.

"Laila, are you all right?" Luke's face was blown up as he was right in front of the screen, trying to get a better picture of her.

Laila smiled, her mental shields going up, "I'm fine, Luke. I'm really glad to see you." It was the truth, she was always glad to see him.

"What in Force's name have you been? How did you get there? What were you do – " Luke's mouth ran as his hands made wide gestures to show his befuddlement.

"Luke, I don't know how to tell you this but…after you dropped me off the other day…" Laila searched her mind for what to say, "I was kidnapped by some storm troopers and taken to the headquarters. I tried to call to you through the Force, but it was no use! Oh Luke! I was so scared!" she sobbed, real tears coming to her eyes.

"You were kidnapped? Oh, Laila. I'm so sorry. Tell Han to get you here immediately. Don't worry; everything's going to be ok. I'll see you when you get here." He stole one last glance at her mangled appearance, "It's not time to worry yet. I'll tell you when to worry. It'll be ok." He grinned solemnly and cut off the connection.

Luke sighed and flopped down on his bed. Where would she go for the night? There was nowhere in the whole Rebel camp. Soldiers were already having to double up rooms. Even Leia had to share her room (much to Han's dismay…). _Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when it come_, Luke thought.

Laila sighed and leaned back into the chair as Han came back in.

"So, you were kidnapped, eh?" he sat down across from her as he fired up the engines, "Listen, Kid #2, I've been all over this galaxy, and I've seen some pretty awesome things, but never have I seen a devotion and love like Luke has for you," he stared at her, "Don't screw this up. Because I can tell you now you are _never_ going to find another like him."

"What are you talking about, Han?" Laila eyed him warily. _Could he suspect something?_

"All's I'm saying is Luke _does_ something to people. He changes how they look at life, what their priorities are, the things they believe in. And all for the better. So count yourself to lucky, to be able to learn from him in such an intimate way. Be grateful." The ship blasted into hyperspace and the star elongated before them.

Laila thought back to what she had said to Vader a mere hour ago. _Is that Luke changing me?_ She wondered. She drifted off to sleep, Luke's worried face engrained in her mind.

Han watched her as she slept. She looked so innocent. How could he tell Luke what he had heard? He would never believe him. Han sighed. Some things were just to complicated for his liking.

"Laila!" Laila's head whipped around and she saw Luke striding towards her.

"Luke!" she cried and ran for him. His arms opened and she fell into his embrace, never wanting to leave.

"Laila, Laila, _Laila_. You're safe. Thank the Force you're safe." He murmured into her hair. He tipped her face to his and gently kissed her.

Laila gave into his kiss and felt her knees go weak. _Not good_, she heard a distant voice in the back of her mind say.

She ignored it.

As Luke pulled away he saw Han come up behind them, after shutting down the _Falcon_. Luke walked over and hugged him (in a friendly way…), "Thanks, Han. I mean, for bringing her back safe. I don't know what I would've done if anything had happened to her." He patted Han's back and stepped back.

Han sighed and pulled Luke to the side, the anxiety clear on his face, "Look, Luke. Back at the Imperial Base, I heard a few things, and I think we should talk, privately."

"Did you hear any secret plans or anything? Or get a glimpse of their leader? That would be something," Luke stepped back and imagined himself coming face to face with the infamous leader of the Imperials, so far nobody had been able to see him full on. Luke couldn't wait for that pleasure, preferably right when he was sabering off his head. Luke grinned at the thought.

"Uh, no Kid. Something else. But you know? We'll talk later, go be with Laila, I'm sure she could use some 'Luke-time' right now." Han glanced in Laila's direction and Luke smiled as he walked over to her and enveloped her into his arms.

A few hours later Leia and the Rebels arrived back at base. Han, Luke, and Laila were there to meet them. Han sprinted up to the door of the ship before it had even fully docked and looked as if he would pry open the doors to get to Leia faster.

Leia stepped out of the ship soon enough, looking cool and collected, until she was swung into Han's arms and embraced so tightly, Luke and Laila thought she would suffocate.

At last, light years later (really a few hours…), all the ships repaired, plans for the next attack already forming, all the stomachs fed, and all the cots set up the wear foursome sat down in the empty cafeteria to talk over lukewarm coffee.

"Laila, I know this may be hard for you to recount, but I, the Rebellion, needs to know if you heard anything of value while you were kidnapped." Leia looked at Laila sympathetically before looking down into her coffee.

Han locked eyes with Laila and she felt herself shiver. _What had he heard, _she thought in distress. Luke placed a hand over Laila's shaking one, "Only tell us what you can."

Laila's eyes darted between Han and Luke wondering what to say, she felt like the walls were closing in on her Finally she spoke up, "I wish I could tell you something…but…they kept me in a…a…cell! Yes a cell! So, I didn't hear anything. I'm sorry." She turned to Luke and buried her head in his shoulder.

Han leaned forward, "Then what were you doing in the gym?"

Laila looked at him, the fire in her eyes showing. She cooled down and gave him a hard look, "I told you, he wanted me to show him the move Luke had taught me," she turned to Luke, "he said he was expecting you and wanted to be prepared. I tried not to show him too much…but he knew when I was lying. It's a good thing Han came when he did, or else he would know too much."

Leia looked between Han and Laila and set down her mug firmly, "Yes, it is a good thing Han came when he did," she stood up from the small table and sighed, "And now I think it's time we all went to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." The group stood up and stood awkwardly looking at the ground.

At last Luke spoke up, "Uhh…Leia, there's no other rooms for Laila, so I was just thinking…maybe…I am a grown man…almost…"

Leia sighed and glared at Luke, "Luke, I'm tired, Han's tired, I know Laila's tired, get on with it!" (Leia tended to get a little antsy when she was tired)

"Ok, well, I was thinking, that Laila…I mean…I could…"

Han decided to give the kid a break, knowing full well what he was asking. He clapped him on the shoulder and looked at Leia, " What the Kid is trying to say is that so as not to inconvenience Your Worship in the morning, he thought that Laila could stay in his room for the night."

Laila's head popped up from the floor. _What did he say? Stay the night? With Luke? Well… No! You can't stay the night with _Luke_! Are you mad?! But look how cute he looks when he's blushing…_

"Laila? Laila? Hoth to Laila!" Laila snapped out of her trance and saw Leia waving a hand in front of her face, "Do you want to stay with Luke tonight? Can you make a decision like…now?"

Laila glanced at Luke who had suddenly found something very interesting about his shoes.

"Uhh, sure, I mean I wouldn't want to get in the way tomorrow morning. Yeah, I'll stay with…Luke…tonight."

Han grinned, "Well glad that's settled! Let's get to bed!" Han placed a hand on Luke and Laila's back and steered them into Luke's room. He pushed them in and popped his head through the door, "Goodnight you two!" he winked at Luke and slammed the door.

"Luke?" Laila said.

"Yeah?"

"Can we turn on the lights? It's kind of dark."

There was much scrambling and then, with a flash, the room was illuminated. Laila blinked her eyes and looked around. She had never been in his room before, and it was very bland. In the right corner was a wooden desk with some pictures of his family. On the far wall was a bed with black coverings and two plump pillows. In the left corner was a bookshelf filled with old Jedi training books and model ships sticking out of odd places. In the middle shelf sat an intricately carved box. It looked out of place amid the clutter of the other knick-knacks and what not on the shelves. She walked over and ran her hand along the books and plucked one out, _Jedi Codex_, it read.

"Brushing up on your Jedi knowledge are we?" she weighed the book in her hand, her eyes scanning over the other titles trying to se if there was anything useful for Lord Vader.

"And what if I am?" he took the book out of her hand and reached across her and placed it back on the shelf. She couldn't help but notice the proximity of how close he was.

She picked up the strange box next and held it out in front of her, "And may I ask what this is?" she smiled but Luke only smiled grimly, "A reminder of my past." He sat down on the bed staring at the small box.

"What past?" she sat down next to him.

"My parents, my mother and my father." She wondered if she would ever get more then a few words out of him at a time.

"Care to enlighten me anymore?" she teased slightly.

"My mother died in childbirth and my father was killed by a young Sith Lord, Darth Jader, Kader, something like that. In this box was the necklace my father made for my mother, a signal of their love I think. When my mother died it was given to my Aunt Beru, who gave it to me. She said I was to give it to someone who I cared about, a lot. It's what my mother would've wanted." He stood up and carefully put the box back on the shelf and rejoined her on the bed.

"Luke, I'm so sorry, that must be awful. So you never knew your father _or_ your mother?" Luke shook his head, "No, but I plan on avenging my father as soon as possible." Laila noticed the strong determination in his eyes, like from her vision…

She was pulled away from her thoughts when Luke gently touched her cheek, "You know Laila," his voice was low and his bright blue eyes seemed a few shades darker, "I don't know if I could've made it this far without you." He bent his head down and kissed her, first softly, and then with more passion.

As the kiss deepened, Laila felt herself giving in to her desires, even as the little voice in the back of her head kept screaming for her to stop. Her arms wound around his neck and he leaned into her and pushed her down on the bed.

His hands traveled up and down her body and she shuddered inwardly. She pulled off his shirt and gazed at his toned chest.

Luke smiled down at her and with a wave of his hand the lights flicked off.

Darth Vader paced around his office, his mind reeling from what he had seen. Why hadn't he looked at those tapes earlier? Why didn't he see this coming? I mean, Luke was _his_ son, and he _did_ have a way with the ladies. He never should have let Palpatine put Laila on that mission, it was far too complicated. He needed to contact Obi-Wan and he needed to do it _now_.

He ran to the meditation room and sat down quickly. As he slowly tried to empty his mind except for the images of his former master all he could see was Laila and Luke in the gym that morning, their arms around each other…

"Seeing things you wish you hadn't?" chuckled an old voice.

Vader whipped his head around and stared at the Force ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Obi-Wan! Can you tell me what the hell you've been telling my son all these years!?" he tried to grab him but his hand only hit the wall with a loud bang. As he held his fist Obi-Wan sat down and looked hard at his former Padawan.

"I told him nothing but the truth." He answered simply.

"That' a lie and you know it! Now tell me what you really told him!" he shouted at the frail man.

Obi-Wan stood up, the anger clear on his face, "Why don't you go and ask him yourself! Then you'll both get the stories you're looking for!" he yelled and then, with a shimmer, he was gone.

"Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan! You come back here! Tell me! Tell me!" his shouts got weaker and weaker as he sank to the floor. Obi-Wan's last words ran through his head. The boy would have to know sooner or later, and what about Laila? He knew she felt strongly about Luke, but what did she want more, to be a Sith, or to be with Luke?

As the air conditioning kicked on Laila lay intertwined in Luke's arms and smiled.

"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked her.

"You, life, you, well, mostly you." She grinned and reached up to kiss him.

"Likewise." He untangled himself from her and the sheets and stood up.

Laila felt the cold of him not being there and gave him a puzzled look.

"I'll be right back." He chuckled. He walked over to the bookcase and lifted up the sacred box and walked back over to the bed. As he sat down he pulled a key out of the desk drawer and slowly unlocked the box. He raised up a piece of carved wood on a simple white string and held it before her.

"It's a japor snippet. It was my mother, from my father, he carved it for her. I'm supposed to give it to someone I care a lot about. Someone I…I…love." He looked down at the messy sheet then back to her, straight into her eyes.

"I love you Laila, and it would do me the great honor if you wore this."

Laila took the necklace from his hand and slipped it over her neck and looked back into his once-again bright blue eyes, "I love you too Luke, and I would love to have the honor of wearing this necklace." She smiled as he titled her chin back and kissed her once more.

Two days later, Laila had finally managed to find an excuse to get away form the Rebel base and back to Vader.

As she walked through the steal doors she fingered the japor snippet that laid right beneath her thin shirt. She smiled dreamily as she thought about the weekend's events, that is, until she saw Vader striding towards her, and even with the mask, she could tell he was not happy.

"Look, it's not very easy to get away from all those Rebels, especially when one-" she tried to form an appropriate excuse, but Vader cut her off.

"Palpatine wants to have a talk with you right away," she could hear the concern in his voice, "It's regarding your mission." He grabbed her wrist and led her over to the Emperor's office.

As she stepped into the overdone room Palpatine turned in his overstuffed chair (just like the one in her vision, she noted again), "Seems we have much to talk about young Padawan, some things in relation to a certain Luke Skywalker." he smiled evilly.


	12. Chapter 11: Misled Connections

**Hey all! Not much going on here, except tomorrow I leave for a CRUISE!! I am so excited you guys have no idea (I've also never been on one...)! So there will be no updates on any of my stories for at least a week. Sorry... I hope you all will check out my new story, Legacies Die Hard, it's pretty good if I say so myself! It's a time travel story where Anakin goes to the future, but there is much tension between him and his future son, and there's something Obi-Wan isn't telling him... Well I hope you all are having a fantastic summer (or winter, whatever side of the globe you live on)!! ****As always, please read and review:-)**

**_i live on correllia: _I'm so glad you love the story so much! But, I'm not willing to give you any information on where I live, so , please stop asking. I'd love to see the fan art you have, so you could PM it to me if you want, just I don't like to tell people I don't know where I live exactly... Now, please don't take this personally, but you keep telling me to check my spelling and grammer (which I know, I mess up on a lot), when you should probably proof-read your own reviews. Now you said you're from New York, so I assume you speak English, so maybe you should do spell check before you submit a review. I don't mean to sound harsh and I would tell you this for a reply, but you keep signing on as annoymous, so this is the only way I knwo how to, but you telling me to check my spelling but then having many spelling mistakes yourself is a little hypocritical, no offense or anything. I really do love your kind words on the story and it's really encouraging and I hope you continue to enjoy it!!**

**Sorry, for above, but I felt I needed to reply to this reviewer**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 11: MISLED CONNECTIONS**

* * *

Laila walked out of Palpatine's office, thoroughly shaken up. Her mind went through the conversation they'd had:

_As she sat down in the stiff chair she could tell this was not going to be fun, but she had to hold her ground, "What about Luke Skywalker?"_

_Palpatine slammed his fist into his ornate desk, "I want him on the Dark Side, and I want it NOW!"_

_Laila stood up, her eyes glowing yellow, "It's not that easy, you _highness_! You try getting a guy who's so set on the good that he's willing to sacrifice himself for others to go over to the dark!"_

"_I don't care what his morals are, you ignorant brat! I need him over here so we can defeat that blasted Rebellion!"_

_She spun around, her hands flying into the air, "Well, it's not that easy! It's just going to take some more time!"_

"_Time is not what we have," he glared at her, "Now, you either get him onto our side by the end of the week, or there'll be hell to pay. Understand?" he asked, his voice sickly sweet._

_She nodded and stormed out of the room. As she got a safe distance from his office she sank to floor and slowly fingered the japor snippet around her neck._

Vader came across Laila in the gym, destroying all of he battle droids she could get her hands on. He watched her for a few minutes, letting her anger diminish a little before he asked her what happened with Palpatine.

He approached her slowly, making his way around the perimeter of the gym.

Laila breathed heavily as she waited for her opponent to make its next move. As it surged forward at her firing blaster shots she flipped over its head. In slow motion she watched as the japor snippet slipped out from under her shirt and fell to the ground. She landed on her feet but stumbled and fell back on her back.

She tried to scramble to her feet to retrieve the necklace but Vader got to it before her.

"You dropped th-" from beneath his mask his eyes went wide as he held the necklace at arm's length.

Laila rushed forward and grabbed the necklace from his hands and stuffed it in her pocket.

"Where did you get that?" he asked her slowly, his voice trying to hold back emotion.

Laila looked at the floor, "Luke gave it to me."

Vader stepped back from Laila, imagining Luke telling her about the necklace and its meaning and then carefully slipping it over her neck. He shuddered as he remembered his wife wearing it.

_Anakin walked over to Padme as she stood in the moonlight on their balcony. Her stomach was getting larger everyday. _

_He placed his hands on her stomach and could have sworn he felt a kick form their baby girl (or so he had thought at the time). He picked up the worn piece of carved wood, "I remember when I gave this you. It was so long ago." He smiled down at her._

_She took it back into her own hands and examined it before looking back up at him, "Yes, and I wear it always." She had told him simply. She reached up and kissed him sweetly and then had returned to bed._

Vader wondered how Luke had gotten a hold of it. He regained his fearful stature and glared at Laila, "And why would he give you this?"

Laila stood up at her tallest height, "Why do you want to know?" the yellow in her eyes still showing.

"Because I think you're getting to deep into this mission. I'm telling the Emperor to call it off. I'll take care of getting Skywalker to our side. You'll get a new mission." He turned to walk out of the room.

Laila grabbed his wrist the yellow drained from her eyes, "No! I mean, it's not too difficult for me. All the Emperor told me was to have Lu- Skywalker to the Dark Side by the end of the week, I can do it."

Vader looked down at her, "I don't think you can and what I say goes. I'm getting you off of this mission." He strode out of the room before she could protest again.

"Ah!" Laila picked up her light saber and threw it at one of the droids and watched it fall back onto the floor.

* * *

Luke walked into the lunchroom at the Rebel Base and sat down with Han and Leia. He hadn't talked to either of them since that fateful night (he smiled at the memory).

"Luke. You look awfully happy." Han said in-between bites.

"I have a lot to be happy about, Han. It's a great day, the sun is shining, the Empire is almost defeated, why wouldn't I be happy?" he said grinning broadly.

Leia glanced out at the dim morning as the hail poured down on top of them, "Oh yes, lovely day. We're leaving for a new mission today, Cloud City. Han says he knows of someone there who can help us with some spare parts for the broken ships and what not. Are you going to come with us?"

"I suppose so." He said as he ate his lunch with much vigor.

"Perfect." Leia got up and went off to talk some Generals about an upcoming attack.

Luke leaned in, "Han, I did it. I told Laila I loved her. And guess what? She said she loved me back," he sank back in his chair, "I feel like I could defeat the Empire with one hand tied behind my back."

"She said that? She said she loved you?" Han asked fully surprised.

"She did. Is that so hard to believe? That someone could possibly love farm boy over here? I know you and Leia have your opinions on her, but I love her and she loves me. Why can't you just accept it for what it is?" Luke answered, his anger rising.

"It's not that I can't accept it, Luke," Han said trying to stay calm, "It's just, when…"

"When, what?"

Han sighed, not meeting Luke's eyes. He knew he had to tell him what he had heard; he had to, it was the right thing to do.

"When I was leading the Rebel attack on the Empire base, I heard some things in the gym before I rescued Laila. I heard her say, 'What if I don't want to be a-'"

"Han! Luke! We've decided we need to leave now! The Empire is on the move, and we need to get the parts for the ships, _now_." Leia said rushing in.

Luke nodded and stood up to follow her out of the room.

Han leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples, " I can't catch a break…" he mumbled.

"Nope, you sure can't!" Han turned to see a young pilot chuckling as he ate his lunch.

Han glared at the Rebel until he gulped loud enough for the Emperor to hear and scattered out of the room.

* * *

Vader walked out of Palpatine's office, frustration bubbling up inside of him. Palpatine had said that Laila could not be taken off the mission and she had to complete it.

_Well,_ Vader thought,_ he never said I couldn't help her out some…_

He paused in the hallway and searched out for his son's bright Force Signature. _Cloud City…_

"Captain! Make your coordinates for Cloud City, we have some business to accomplish."

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­"So you think you can help us with the spare parts?" Han looked over at his friend, Lando.

"Sure thing buddy! Why don't we go have some dinner in the dining hall, first though?" Lando answered enthusiastically.

As the droids opened the door to the dining hall Leia got an uneasy feeling, Luke was looking at some of ships in the hanger, but she felt like he needed to be here, something didn't feel right.

The doors opened with a flourish. As the duo stepped in they saw a black-cloaked figure at the end of the table, with a blaster already firing towards them.

Han grabbed Leia's hand and shoved her behind him before firing back with equal speed.

Vader looked around through the blaster shots but couldn't see Luke anywhere. _Where is he_, his mind screamed. He commanded his two flunkies to capture the couple and to keep them alive; he was off on a hunt.

* * *

Luke was still examining the ships when he felt a dark presence coming his way. He turned around and saw Vader standing in front, his blood-red saber gleaming.

"Sith!" Luke cursed as he ignited his own saber.

"Precisely!" Vader yelled as he charged at Luke.

Leia paced in the small chamber a million thoughts rushing through her head.

* * *

She turned to Han who seemed quite content to sit and twiddle his thumbs.

"Well, smart one? What now? We don't even know if Luke's ok! How are you going to get us out of this one?"

Han looked up at her and shrugged his shoulders. He had this odd feeling everything was going to be ok.

Leia screeched and continued to pace.

* * *

Vader had Luke over a long shaft that lead to outside, instant death.

"Who are you?!" Luke screamed as Vader used the Force to throw objects at his son. He didn't know where all this anger was coming from, but he liked it. He always had, he bathed in the heat of the Dark Side.

"Darth Vader! Second in Command to the Emperor!" he screamed with victory.

A metal bar hit Luke. "Darth Vader?" realization struck him instantly and he charged forward with new energy, "You killed my father, prepare to meet your doom!"

In one swift moment, Vader seized his opportunity and sliced off Luke's right hand. He yelped in pain and fell back. He crawled over the barrier and began sliding towards the center of the shaft.

"Obi-Wan never told you did he?"

"He told me enough! He told me you killed him!" Luke snarled.

"I am your father." Vader stated simply.

Luke shook his head in disbelief, "No! No! You're lying!"

"Search your feelings my son, you know it to be true!" Vader reached for Luke but Luke crawled out even further.

"Join me! Together we can rule the galaxy as father and son! The way it should be!" he pleaded with him.

Luke looked down the shaft and smiled triumphantly, "No, I'll never join you or the Dark Side!" and with that final statement he let go and fell down the shaft.

* * *

In her quarters, Laila felt Luke's pain through the Force.

_Luke!_ She called out through the Force.

_Laila?_

_Yes! Are you ok? Are you hurt?_ She asked, suddenly wanting to see him badly, make sure everything was all right.

Luke struggled to answer her. He couldn't tell her. Not yet, he had barely accepted it. No, it was better if she didn't know.

_I'm fine, just…stubbed my toe. I'll be fine,_ he said trying to sound calm.

_I have to go now; I'll see you tomorrow, for lunch right? One-year anniversary,_ he said almost falling off the rod he was hanging off of.

_Ok, I'll see you tomorrow._

The connection was broken.

Something was not right and she knew it. But what? Something to sleep on as she picked through her closet trying the find something good to wear for the big night tomorrow.

* * *

Vader watched as his only son slid down the shaft and disappeared. His cape fluttered as he turned and marched out of the room.

_Grr…_ he thought, _my son is too smart to fall for that…_ and just because no one was around, and even though he wore a mask, he smiled at the thought.


	13. Chapter 12: Duty Over Love?

**Hola! (that's the extent of my Spanish!) Here's my next chapter! The cruise was amazing, especially the food! I hate to say it, but we are quickly coming to the end of this story. :-( Only about 5-6 more chapters (however that could change possibly) to go. Thanks to all my faithful reviewers, you guys have helped me to continue with this story! As always, please read and review:-)**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 12: DUTY OVER LOVE? **

* * *

Laila stood in front of the Rebel base waiting for Luke to come out. She tapped her watch impatiently and looked up into the dark windows.

_Where is he_, she thought frantically. It was their one-year anniversary, where was he?! _I did not get in this get-up to be stood up_, she thought, anger level boiling. He was over an hour late.

She decided she wasn't going to stand around and wait anymore so she stormed into the Rebel Base and straight up to Luke's room. She flung open the door, ready to scream and yell at him, but stopped when she noted that the room was, empty.

The sheets on the small bed were still tossed about, showing he had had a sleepless night. She walked over and touched the pillow; it was damp with what appeared to be tears. Her heart jumped into her throat, guilt washing over at the anger she had just felt for him. Luke didn't cry, she knew that, something big had to have happened for him to cry.

She picked up the pillow and hugged it to her chest and went out into the bleak hallway and looked around. She saw Han walking down the hallway.

"Han," she called down to him, "where's Luke?"

Han looked at his feet and rubbed his arm, still sore from their "escape plan" from Cloud City.

"He's uh, in the medical bay, Laila, but I don't think you should go-" he started, but Laila was already half way down the hall to the medical bay, the tear-stained pillow still clutched in her hand.

Han watched her small form get smaller and smaller as bewilderment overtook him. She had looked so worried and scared. Could it be that she really did love Luke?

_That can't be, I heard what she said that day, she said she was a Sith_, Han didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling things could only get worse from here.

Laila's pace quickened as she got closer to the medical bay. At the secretary's desk she tried to keep her franticness in check, "Um, could you tell me where Commander Luke Skywalker is?"

The secretary looked up from her magazine and smacked her gum loudly as she glanced at Laila's dark emerald knee-length dress, "He's in room 258, the doc should be in there with him right now." She started to read her magazine again.

Laila was praying with all her might he just had a case of the stomach flu when she stopped herself.

_What am I saying? I _want_ him to be all right? I should want him dead! Or at least on the dark side!_ She sunk to the floor right outside his room, _what am I doing? I've fallen in love with a Jedi. Now what?_

She knew in her mind that she should turn around, go back to Vader and get his help, but her heart told her to go check on Luke. She sat there for a full 10 minutes trying to decide what to do. Stepping into that room meant she truly loved Luke, meant she would have to give up the Dark Side, embrace the light, be with Luke. Going back to Vader would ensure her spot as a Sith, making sure she had all of that dark power she reveled in, everything she had ever worked for in life.

She smiled, remembering the power and strength the dark side gave her. Her eyes gleamed yellow at the thought. Then though, she remembered being in Luke's arms, the taste of his lips, and the happiness she felt when his hand found hers under the table.

She stood up and slowly opened the door to Luke's room; her eyes went wide when she saw him. He was hooked up to some kind of scary machine, his right hand made up completely of wires and metal.

She gasped loudly and Luke's head whipped around, "Laila! What are you doing here?"

She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him, upset at him for forgetting, "We had a date, remember?"

Luke blushed and her senses returned to her. She rushed over to him, her eyes a bright turquoise, "What happened? Yesterday you said you had only stubbed your toe. You lied to me." She added quietly (even though she shouldn't be the one to talk about lying).

Luke opened his mouth to tell her the story but closed it. He couldn't tell her that the Dark Sith Lord was his _father_, she would hate him. He wouldn't risk losing her like that.

His left hand grasped hers, "I did lie to you, but only because I didn't want you to get worried. I know you've been practicing a lot and didn't want to put anymore stress on you." He said, not meeting her eyes.

Laila sighed, she had been stressed lately, "Ok, but then, what _did_ happen?"

"I was helping Han with the _Falcon_, when a wire snapped and electrocuted the wrench I was holding, thus burning my hand so much it had to be amputated." He looked at her, praying she would buy it, "but, when I'm done here, you won't even be able to tell it wasn't real. It will look, feel, and function like a real hand. Like I never lost it in the first place."

Laila wasn't sure if she should believe him or not, but, he hadn't given her any reason not to trust him (_unlike me,_ she thought sadly), she decided to go with it. After all, she was just glad he was all right.

"Ok, Luke." She bent down and kissed him gently, lingering for just a moment on his lips; reminding herself of why she had made the decision she had.

"I'm sorry about our date." Luke said when she had pulled a chair up.

"It's ok, I'm just happy you're ok," she squeezed his hand tightly, "You know you can tell me anything, right? Never be afraid too, because, no matter what…I'll always love you."

He smiled at her and kissed her hand sweetly, "I know, Laila," as he spoke he remembered his conversation with Han a few days ago, "and you know also that you can tell me anything too, right? Because, I will_ always_ love you Laila, always."

Laila gulped, "Well, actually, there is something I'd like to ask you."

Luke nodded, and then winced as the machine poked his new hand to test the nerves.

"I was wondering, if I could move into the Rebel Base with you, and Han, and Leia," she said slowly, "you know, if it's alright, I mean if, not that's ok too. I won't take up much space." She started rambling.

Luke grinned widely and kissed her hard, "Laila, it is perfectly alright for you to move into the Rebel Base. You can come in next week, a band of troops are leaving, so there'll be plenty of room for you."

"Next week?" Laila didn't know if she could control herself not to change her mind if she stayed with Vader and Palpatine for a whole week more.

"Laila, is everything ok with you?" Luke asked her.

"No, and I'd rather not talk about it. But I'd feel more comfortable if I got here as soon as possible. I would even sleep in the mess hall if I had to." She confessed.

Luke pulled her into a hug as best he could, "Nonsense, you can stay with me." Laila smiled and snuggled into his strong embrace and both fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

When Laila woke up she was in Luke's room, alone. She found Luke in deep meditation and the floor next to the bed. 

When he heard her get up he jumped up from his sitting place and looked down at her, "Have a good sleep?"

She smiled groggily, "Yes, I did."

"I talked it over with Leia and she said it was a fine idea for you to join us in our fight against the evil you-know-what. You are free to come stay with us whenever you see fit."

"Really?" Laila asked, her eyes bright.

"Really." Luke answered.

"Yes!" she jumped up on the bed and started dancing.

Luke laughed and pulled her down, holding her bridal style, "You know I love you more than anything, right?"

She wound her hands around his neck, "Yeah, I do."

She giggled as Luke spun her around.

* * *

Vader paced in his office. Laila was 20 minutes late for their sparring lesson. She _never_ missed a sparring lesson. 

He sat down in his stiff chair and reached out into the Force to locate her. When he found her he noted that her Force signature was abnormally bright. It was next to the brightest Force signature he had ever seen, his son's. Vader tried to call out for Laila to get her butt down here through the Force, but she had shielded him so she couldn't hear him.

Vader was shocked. Laila had never shielded him from her. He had always had access to all her thoughts and feelings, always. This was getting to serious; something needed to be done, now.

* * *

Vader sighed as he finished his story to Palpatine, "So what do you think we should do Master? How are we to get him over to our side when it is obvious _he_ has won her over to _their_ side."

"Don't worry, Lord Vader, I have it all figured out." Palpatine smiled evilly and pushed a small button on his desk.


	14. Chapter 13: Force Bonds Too Strong

**Hey all! This is a ** **_really_ short chapter, the shortest I've ever written. but, I'm trying to prolong the story, and leave some good cliffhangers! But, with shorter chapters, the updates should come sooner, so little bit of good with the bad! As always, please read and review:-)**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 13: FORCE BONDS TOO STRONG**

* * *

Laila followed her former Master on board what he called the "Death Star". She had tried to sneak into her old room to gather her final belongings when Vader caught her (in an unusually good mood) and told her he wanted to show her something, the Death Star.

Laila's eyes darted around; she had heard of the planet-destroying battle station but had never gone on it. This was the thing that had obliterated Leia's home planet, Alderaan.

Vader looked over at Laila, trying to guess at what she was thinking, it wasn't working. He wondered if Palpatine's plan was going to work. As he looked at Laila again, he saw her toying with the japor snippet.

Vader searched out for Luke's signature and noted that his ship was very close. He had fled from Endor in a weak attempt to save his friends.

Vader led Laila into the throne room where Palpatine was already waiting.

Palpatine smiled when he saw Laila, "Laila, my dear, welcome," he spread his arms wide to show the large scope of the room before his face turned sinister, "welcome to hell!" he shouted as he shot forth Force Lighting at Laila.

"Ahh!" Laila screamed as she hit the floor in anguish. Vader could only watch.

* * *

"Ahh!" Luke yelled and his ship swerved. His body felt like it was being ripped apart. His close bond with Laila told him where she was and he was shocked to find that it was the same place he was already headed, _Vader_, he thought in disgust. His mind was already reeling with what he would do to Vader should he hurt Laila.

* * *

Palpatine stopped the lightning and slowly walked over to where Laila was still on the floor, "Perfect, my dear. Now on to Stage 2."

"Stage 2?" Laila asked weakly.

"Yes, Stage 2. You see, when I hurt you, your cry rang out through the Force, and straight to your beloved _Luke_. And now, he's going to come running to save _you_, and straight into our trap!" he rubbed his hands together gleefully as a button started flashing on his overstuffed chair.

"Seems he's made good time. He's already here."

"No!" Laila yelled. Amazingly, she stood up and reached for her saber, the purple one, and charged for Palpatine. Vader quickly blocked her with his own crimson saber.

Palpatine stepped back, "I think I'll go collect Mr. Skywalker." And he walked out of the room.

Laila and Vader started to fight, their sabers clashing against each other. Their speed was incredible. Vader could tell she was getting weak, the Force Lightning starting to have an effect.

"I don't want to do this to you, Laila!" he yelled at her, "Come back to the Dark! Feel the power!"

Laila shook her head violently, she could already feel the dark presence coming over her, "No! The light is better! Stay in the light!"

Vader knew he had to get her to succumb to the Dark Side once again, "You'll never be strong enough in the light! Never! It's what your family would want!"

Laila surged forward at the mention of her family, "I have no family! You took them away from me! I know the truth, Vader," she gritted her teeth, "I know you kidnapped me from them! They loved me! Just like Luke does!" she pushed harder, but Vader had the upper hand and knocked her to the ground.

He held his saber to her neck, "I hate to do this, Laila."


	15. Chapter 14: The Beans Have Been Spilled

**Hey all! Only a few more chapters until the end! But now it's just getting to the good part:-) As I said in the last chapter, the final chapters are shorter than most, but hopefully I'll update soon. If I don't finish this story by the end of the week there won't be any updates for about a month (for the reason why, go see Ch. 4 of my other story, _Legacies Die Hard_, it explains why there). So, I'm hoping I'll be done by that point. Just so you all know, I don't think I'm that good of an action-adventure writer, so I don't really think the final battle stuff with Vader, Luke, Laila, and Palpatine is all that good, so be warned. But it's still a good chapter! Some big stuff happens... so, tell me what you think by reading and reviewing:-)**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 14: THE BEANS HAVE BEEN SPILLED   
**

* * *

"I don't think so." Luke growled from the shadows as he leapt forward and pushed Vader violently to the ground.

"Luke! No!" Laila screeched.

"Oh, shut up!" Laila looked up and saw Palpatine standing above her. In one swift movement he collided his fist to her head and knocked her out. Laila fell limp to the ground as Palpatine moved back to his plump chair to watch the show between father and son go on in front of him.

Luke and Vader rolled around on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand.

"Fool! You'll never be strong enough to defeat me! You couldn't even save the one you love!" Luke paused momentarily to see Laila lying on the ground, not moving.

"Laila!" Vader sat up and Force-pushed Luke against the wall and then resumed his place beside Palpatine to wait.

Luke crumpled to the floor, clutching his side, his eyes squeezed shut in pain. He crawled over to Laila and placed a hand on her cheek, "Laila, Laila, Laila. Wake up. Please!"

"She's nearing death, my son." Vader spoke.

Luke looked up, his blue eyes black with hatred.

"The ways of the Dark Side could save her. Don't you want to save her?" Vader asked, holding out the bait before Luke.

Luke cast her eyes down to Laila, the back to Vader and walked over to them. He looked out the window to the ongoing battle, the Rebels losing miserably. Is this what his father had had to endure? He loved Laila with all his being, but could he really bring himself to let them_ all_ down? But, if he could kill their leader, Palpatine…he could save both his father and Laila.

Palpatine heard his thoughts and chuckled, "Excellent plan, young Skywalker. Take your weapon, I am defenseless."

Luke turned around and gazed longingly at his saber. _No_, he though forcefully, _don't give in!_

* * *

  
Laila woke up and felt her head pounding immensely. What had happened? She looked up and saw Luke pacing nervously in front of the window.

Her vision! Of course!

"Take your weapon and strike me down. Then your transformation to the Sith will be complete." She heard Palpatine say.

Laila looked back in her vision, next Luke would grab his saber…the Dark Side…no!

"Luke, don't!" she screamed at him.

Luke and Vader turned at her voice and Vader Force-pushed her down harshly. Well, that sent Luke off, he Force-grabbed his saber and it clashed against Vader's.

"Perfect." Palpatine said.

As Vader and Luke continued to fight, Laila struggled to get up again. She saw the climax of her vision playing out before her in real life. Luke's eyes shot daggers at Vader as he pounded him into the ground. In one rapid movement he sliced off his right hand.

Laila gasped as the wires from Vader's hand protruded from his fake wrist.

Luke sucked in his breath and stared at his own hand and then tossed his saber across the room. Laila heard it clang loudly on the metal floor.

"You have failed, Your Highness. I'll _never_ turn to the Dark Side. I am a Jedi, like my father before me." He said proudly.

Laila could almost repeat the small speech in her sleep, seeing it replayed in her mind countless times. But she had missed one important detail, the way Luke had nodded his head in Vader's direction as he said the word 'father'.

Suddenly everything made sense to her. The mission, the strange resemblances she had vaguely seen, the way Vader had been shocked at the snippet, the way he always wanted to know what Luke had said, everything. Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father. That meant that Vader had once been a _Jedi_.

She struggled to her feet and glared at Vader, "You…you…" she sputtered, forgetting about everyone else in the room, "his _father_. Now it all makes sense. It was never for him," she gestured to Palpatine, "Never because he told you to, it was for you! You!"

Her eyes gleamed yellow and Luke took a step back, "And you were going to kill him!" she was screaming now, so loud the whole station must have heard, "How dare you!" she lunged at him with her saber but Luke had grabbed her quickly from behind.

"Laila! I know! I should have told you!" Luke tried to calm her, thinking she was talking to him.

Laila couldn't hear him though, the hatred rushing through her blocked out his voice, "You! His father! You were good! A Jedi!" she pushed against Luke in an attempt to charge at Vader.

"Laila! Calm down!" Luke hugged her close, pinning down her arms.

Palpatine smiled slyly and lithely stepped down from his perch to Luke and Laila.

"It seems all the secrets are coming out now." He said evilly.

"How could you, Vader! How-" Laila's eyes went wide as she heard what Palpatine had said, all the secrets.

Vader stood up with amazing strength and strode over by Palpatine, weakly, but with some dignity.

Laila gave final push against Luke and succeeded and lunged for Palpatine, wanting to close his ugly mouth forever, so Luke would never know the truth.

Palpatine grabbed her arm and twisted it around painfully. And for the second time in one day, a glowing red lightsaber was against Laila's neck.

"Ow!" Laila yelped, Luke reached for his saber but then remembered he had thrown it away. It wouldn't have done him any good, Vader had come up and seized both his arms so that he and Laila here staring at each other.

Palpatine grinned, "I think Laila has something to tell you, Luke."


	16. Chapter 15: Ripped at the Seams

**More short chapters, I know... But, this one is pretty good if I say so myself! _Balance in the Dark_, Palpatine is a little more verbally evil in this chapter, but still some physical. Although I hope he's a little more believable for you! Anywho, I highly doubt I'll be able to finish this before I leave for vaction. But maybe I can find time to finish it up there... (thoughts brewing in head). Oh well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and whether or not you did, please review and tell me what you think:-)**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 15: RIPPED AT THE SEAMS**

* * *

Sweat gleamed off of Laila's face as the heat from Palpatine's lightsaber inched closer and closer to her.

"Don't!" Luke shouted. Vader pulled him back against his chest harder.

Palpatine looked up from Laila's neck and grinned. "Well, if Laila won't tell you her little secret, then I think I will."

Laila attempted to free herself, "No!" as she struggled, the japor snippet fell out from behind her shirt.

Palpatine gazed at it and then chopped it off her neck with amazing skill, never once touching her pale skin, and held it mid-air with the Force.

All three, Luke, Laila, and Vader, watched as Palpatine spun the snippet around in the air, their eyes glued to the emotional necklace.

"I seem to remember this necklace," he said glaring at Vader, "A symbol of love, if I recall," he glanced at Luke and twisted Laila's arm more, "Do you love Laila, young Skywalker?"

Luke swallowed hard, his eyes filling with tears as Laila's arm was on the brink of breaking off.

"Do you?" he asked a little more forcefully as he pulled her arm even further back. Laila yelled out in pain.

"Yes! I love her!" Luke said quickly, Palpatine released Laila's arm a little. He switched off his lightsaber and grinned maliciously again.

"Then it might pain you to know your loved one isn't all she says she is."

Laila blinked back tears, "Please, don't." she whispered.

"Don't what?" Vader watched as Palpatine set his trap for Luke. He had seen it before with Padme, he turned his head, surprised he couldn't bring himself to watch.

"Don't tell him." Her voice was barely audible.

"You mean you don't want me tot ell him you're really a Sith?" he said mockingly. Luke's eyes went wide.

"That's right, Luke. Little Laila here is really a Sith-Apprentice to none other than your own father," he watched Luke slowly shake his head back and forth, his eyes bright with disbelief, "And do you know what her final mission was?"

A loud whimper escaped Laila's lips as she dreaded what he would surely say next.

"Her final mission was to bring _you_ to the Dark Side of the Force, by seducing you into believing there was something between you two. Make you think she loved you." He finished, a hint of triumph in his voice.

It took Luke a lot of effort to finally find his voice, "Laila?" he said fighting back tears.

Laila looked up at him, the pain clear in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Luke. I'm so sorry." She hung her head as Luke let out a moan.

She met his eyes again, "It started out that way, Luke. But…I really do love you, I do!" she pleaded with him.

Palpatine was there to intervene of course, "But how can you believe her? Everything she's ever told you is a lie." Luke glared at the Emperor, but he thought about it, could her really trust her? Look at what she had done to him. Luke fumed with anger at the thought that maybe Laila had never really loved him in the first place. All the things he had told her, shown her. All the Jedi techniques…

"That's not true!" she protested, "Please, Luke! Don't believe him! Don't listen!"

The frail Emperor smirked, "Don't believe me? So are you saying you _weren't_ a Sith?"

"No." came the heartbreaking reply.

"And to think she was working with your father the entire time." He said, silently shaking a finger at Laila's vulnerable form.

When she looked up again, her expression was fierce, "I had no idea he was your father, Luke. I promise you! He lied to me!" she was trying so desperately to make him understand.

As she stared at his face she gasped, his eyes were flashing an indescribable yellow.


	17. Chapter 16: The End All Be All

**At last we have come to the end of this story. I'm still debating about doing a small epilogue in a few days, but it all depends on what you, the reader, think. I've enjoyed this story from the beginning, and am a little more than sad to see it end, but relieved at the same time. I hope you all enjoyed following it as much as I did writing it! Thank you to ALL my faithful readers, the first ones, the later ones, and even the ones who never reviewed but followed it anyway! This story would have gone no where without the reviewers though, so a special thank you to you guys! So, tell me what you think overall (especially for those who have never reviewed)** **by reading and reviewing:-)**

**And now for...**

**CHAPTER 16: THE END ALL BE ALL**

* * *

Palpatine slapped Luke on the back, "See, Lord Vader! I told that with just a little persuasion he would come to us!" 

"Luke, don't." Laila moaned. Luke's eyes were set hard on her, yellow with rage. With sudden force he slammed against Vader and encircled his hands around his throat, "You're lying!" he screamed.

Laila rushed forward and tried to pull Luke off her Master, "Luke, stop! This is what he wants! Don't do it!"

Luke shoved her off harshly, "Don't tell _me_ what to do," he hissed at her.

Vader's breathing became labored and he felt his son's strength growing with the evil that was consuming him. He knew it wasn't because Luke wanted to feel that power, that would come later, it was because he felt betrayed…just like he had, with Obi-Wan and Padme so many years ago. And look where it had gotten him, he thought bitterly, forever imprisoned in a black suit and eternally indebted to the Emperor. He thought back to when he first saw Luke smile, laugh, wield a lightsaber for the Light, it was as if through his son's sudden darkness, he had seen the light. His entire body filled with the substance and he felt relieved. He almost smiled, had Luke's hands not been around his neck.

He grasped his hand on Luke's arm, "Luke don't," he rasped, "Go back to her, the…light…" it was too late though, in Luke's anger he had disabled his father's iron lung.

Vader took in one deep breath and collapsed.

"Father!" Luke shouted out of his trance as he felt his father's transformation, "No!" he bent down to his father and tried to stand him up unsuccessfully.

"No…Luke…my time is…up." Anakin said, gently placing his hand on Luke's face with great effort.

Reading his mind, Luke tenderly removed Anakin's helmet and looked into the identical blue eyes.

"My son…" Anakin gave a thin smiled before closing his eyes for the last time.

Laila was still panting from screaming at Luke to stop strangling his father when her tears began to fall rapidly. She had lost Luke and her Master. She fell to her knees and cried harder.

Palpatine cursed silently the day Anakin Skywalker was born and cursed again when he felt the light beating out the darkness inside Luke. He had to get rid of him too now, Laila was his only hope. Maybe the death of him would spark her darkness again…a little bit of Force-lightning ought to do the trick…

Laila's strong, dark bond with Vader rolled over into an even stronger bond of light with Anakin and he heard his voice in her head, "Laila! Luke, you must save him!" With the bond, she quickly heard Palpatine's disastrous plan.

"You've cost me too much, Skywalker! You will pay!" Palpatine sputtered, his hands rising to shoot forth the deadly bolts.

Almost in slow motion Luke faced his opponent, as Laila jumped up and ran to him, "Luke, watch out!" she flew over and pushed him to the side right as Palpatine's lightning bolts hit her full force.

Luke fell to the hard floor, Laila's screams ringing in his ears. He saw her withering in pain on the floor

"Laila!" he called his saber to him from across the room and charged at Palpatine, who before he could realize what was happening, had been impaled by Luke's spectacular green lightsaber.

Palpatine's face registered shock as he fell back, sent into the perpetual turmoil of the afterlife.

Luke breathed heavily as he become conscious of the fact that he had destroyed the most powerful human being in the galaxy.

"Luke." Laila groaned from her position on the ground. Luke rushed to her side. She was paler than normal and her Force Signature was faint.

Luke cradled her head in his lap, "No, Laila, don't do this! Stay with me! I love you!"

Her eyes fluttered and her signature was almost gone. Burns littered her body from the lightning; scars would create maps on her face for all eternity.

"I'm sorry, Laila," Luke placed a soft hand on the side of her face, "I should've been able to save you."

Laila fought back death for one more moment, "No, Luke, no. You did save me," she tried to smile at him, her mind becoming foggier, but she had to tell him, "You did save me… from the Dark Side, you saved me… just like your father."

Tears ran down Luke's face, "I can't live without you Laila, I just can't."

"I know. So don't…live _for_ me, Luke. Live…for me."

"I don't think I can. Please, stay with me, Laila. I need you!"

Laila shook her head slowly, darkness inching it's way into her, "No, it was I who…needed…you." Her breaths were coming fewer and farther between. Luke knew the end was coming.

Luke called the broken snippet to him and held it into Laila's hand, "Forever, remember? I'll always love you." Tears blurred his vision as Laila's hand became limp in his own.

"…love…forever." Luke looked into her bright turquoise eyes one last time and she died in his arms, her Force signature faded into the darkness forever.

That night, the Empire died, but along with it, Laila, and a very large piece of Luke's heart.

the end.

* * *

**Now, I know some people may not approve of the ending, but it was planned from the very beginning and it's how I felt it should end. If you did or didn't like it, tell me in a review! Please and thank you:-)  
**

**And if you'd still like to see more of my writing, I'm in the process of writing Legacies Die Hard, a time travel fic (Anakin goes to the future, more info in previous chapters). And I may possibly pick up my very first story that went on hold when this one started up, Victorious (another Luke/OC story). So read them if you're ever bored and review to tell me what you think of them:-)  
**


	18. Chapter 17: Epilogue

**Here's the epilogue I told you about! I really do hope you all enjoyed the story! I did:-) Tell me your final thought on the story overall by reading and reviewing:-)**

**And now for...**

**EPILOGUE**

* * *

Luke stood and watched as the flames leapt higher into the air, consuming the remains of Anakin Skywalker and Laila.

He stayed there until the last of the flames had died out into the starry sky above. He walked back slowly into the Ewok Village where the celebrations had already begun.

Leia sensed him coming him and was there to greet him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly. She pulled back when she felt his grief; she knew Vader—her father, she reminded herself, was gone, but something else was missing.

"Where's Laila?" she asked hesitantly. Luke held out his hand, which contained Laila's purple lightsaber and pressed it into Leia's hand.

Leia gasped, "How…?"

Luke stared straight ahead, his eyes stone, "The Emperor was going to kill me, but she took the blows. She sacrificed herself…for me." He said still not looking at her.

Han leaned against the wooden wall. He felt the instant stab of guilt when he heard what Laila had done for Luke. _So she really had given up the Sith, for him, because she really did love him_, he thought solemnly.

He emerged from the shadows and enveloped Luke in a hug, "I'm sorry Luke. Really, I am." He said sincerely.

Luke shuddered with a sob, "I know, Han, I know."

"Come on, Leia. Leave him be for a while." He took Leia's arm and led her off into the festivities.

Luke seemed to not notice all the pats on the back he received, the great job for destroying the Empire, they all went over his head. Nobody knew the grief he felt inside.

He pushed his arm up on the rough wall and sighed, _how can I go on_, he thought grimly.

For the next hour he tried not to think of her sweet smile, how skilled she was with the Force, her laugh, the way her lips felt against his, her beautiful eyes listening intently when he talked to her about his troubles, or the way she'd sneak up behind him and hug him and pressing her cheek against his back, he'd always felt like he could do anything when she was there. Now what?

He opened his eyes and wiped a few stray tears to the ground and looked into the distance.

A few feet before him the trees started to blur together, he squinted, wondering if he was losing it. Leia came up and placed her arm on his, her cheeks and eyes bright from laughter and dancing.

"What is it?" she asked. Luke pointed to the distance.

Before them came the Force-ghost of Obi-Wan who smiled at him.

Next came Yoda who nodded his wrinkled head in approval.

Then a man of young age and blond hair and blue eyes, Luke's other twin you might say, appeared. The man blushed a little as Obi-Wan patted him on the back. He looked into Luke's eyes and grinned.

"Luke…is that him?" Leia asked breathlessly. Luke merely nodded.

All the Force-ghosts looked to their right expectantly. Luke held his breath as the trees blurred further together.

An image of Laila formed in front of them. She looked just has she had when he first met her; the scars from the lightning were gone, her face as perfect as ever. Anakin pulled Laila closer and both smiled at Luke.

As if in trance, Luke pulled away from Leia and slowly approached the ghosts, treading slowly, lest she disappeared from his sight. He brushed another tear from his cheek as he came closer to her.

When he came within a foot of her he stopped. She smiled and glanced at Anakin.

Luke stared at her; unable to believe she was here, with them. As he stared into her eyes she nodded toward the pocket in his pants.

Luke reached inside his pocket and another tear fell down his face as he pulled out the japor snippet he thought he had burned with Laila. He looked back at Laila and smiled at her.

Laila reached out her hand and touched his face, "Forever, remember?" she said.


	19. Chapter 18: Epilogue 2

**Ok, so I wrote this epilogue at the same time as the first one. I wasn't sure which one to post at first, but I think the original one was a nice way to end it. But I came across this one the other day and decided to post it toO, just to see what you all thought about it. It was going to lead into a whole other sequel of sorts with Luke and Mara (and some Laila too), but I dropped it when I decided not to use this epilogue. But here it is anyway, I'll let you all be the judge of which one you like better. :) Tell me what you think in a lovely review!!**

**And now for...**

**EPILOGUE 2**

* * *

"Why won't you talk to me!?" Mara screeched as Luke stormed out the door.

_She doesn't understand_, Luke thought bitterly as he went to talk to his sister.

He pounded on the door and little Jaina answered with a pout on her face, "Uncle Luke, Mommy won't let me have another cookie! Tell her I can!"

Luke's mood brightened a little as he picked up his niece, "I'm sorry Jaina, but what Mommy says goes." He smiled at her but she was still pouting. She wriggled from his embrace and went off into her room.

"The mission failed, I couldn't get the extra cookie. Even Uncle Luke said no. Add him on the enemy list with Mommy and Daddy." She told her brother, Jacen. Jacen nodded and scribbled something down on the back of an old receipt.

Leia stood up from the table where the sought after cookies sat, fresh from the oven, and laughed at one of her twins' many failed mission, this being the 3rd one of the day.

Luke walked into the living room, "So how long have you been on the 'enemy list'?"

Leia sat down on the couch and motioned for him to join her, "Since they learned what the word 'no' meant." She laughed again but stopped when she noticed her brother wasn't.

"It's Mara isn't it?" Luke had been coming over more frequently now, over arguments with Mara.

"Just tell me, Luke. I can't help you if I don't know what the problem is."

Luke sighed knowing she was right, he couldn't keep running away from her, "She wants me to make a commitment."

Leia laughed out loud. Luke looked up startled, "It's not that funny!" he pushed her slightly.

Leia tried to catch her breath, "Luke…heehee…every woman wants the guy they love to make a commitment to them! Stupid!" she laughed again.

Luke grumbled, "It's not that I can't make a commitment, it's just…just…" he didn't know if he could actually admit that it was the ghost of his past that he couldn't let go of that was holding him back from Mara.

Leia stopped laughing and touched his hand, "Laila?" she asked warily. Along with being in arguments with Mara, Luke had been having awful nightmares about that fateful night when Laila had died. He would wake up in a sweat and not be able to go back to sleep for hours, only to be woken up again by the haunting visions.

"I just can't shake her off me." Luke told her, "I can't tell Mara either. She thinks I'm cheating on her! Of all the things to say! Me? Cheating?"

Leia looked at her hands folded in her lap, "Well, Luke, in a way you are."

Luke looked up at her shocked, "What do you mean."

"If you think about it, you haven't let go of Laila yet, you're still putting her above Mara. So in a way you are cheating on Mara. Jaina, get away from those cookies."

Behind them they heard a groan from the kitchen then some crackling of an old comm. link, "Mission failed again!" Another groan from Jacen. He muttered something in Huttese along the lines of "cursing Mommy for having Force-Powers".

"Jacen!" Leia scolded. "Daddy and Uncle Luke say it all the time!" Jacen protested.

Leia glared at Luke, who just shrugged it off.

"So you think I'm cheating on Mara with a girl who's been dead for 3 years?!" he asked suddenly very mad at Leia.

When Leia didn't answer he grunted, "Well, you're wrong! I can let go of Laila anytime I want!" and with that he walked out the door as Han came in from tending to the _Falcon_, "Hey, Luke…" Han started.

He came over and kissed Leia to the discomfort of his children who came up to tackle him.

"What's wrong with him?" Han asked her while trying to wrestle off his kids from his legs.

"Mara." She sighed.

"Oh," Han grinned, "What else is new?"

"Over Laila." She finished.

"Oh." Han said.

* * *

"Luke! Luke! Wait!" Luke turned around in the hallway to see Mara running to catch up with him, her red hair flying out behind her.

When she reached him, her eyes were a fierce green, "I did _not_ come live in this excuse for a base to be with you just to have you shun me, Skywalker!"

"Mara, you don't understand!" Luke shook his head.

She took his hand, "Then make me understand."

He shook his head again, "I can't."

Mara dropped his hand, "Then I guess it's over for us then?" she started to walk away, her boots clicking lightly on the floor.

"Mara, wait! Mara!" Luke called after her. He sighed and went to go meditate.

* * *

As he sat down and closed his eyes he felt his mind empty and a vision began to swim into his mind's eye.

_Luke shuddered over Laila's cold body._

"_Laila! Come back! Come back to me!" he held her close and rocked back and forth. He traced her facial features and touched her silky hair. He knew he needed to get out of the Death Star; it was about to blow up he reminded himself._

_He scooped up Laila's body and deposited her into the ship carefully. He went back and took his father's body too and took it into the ship._

_Once he was situated he started up the engines he heard a very familiar voice, "Luke, open your eyes."_

Luke obeyed the voice and opened his eyes. Straight across from him on the floor sitting cross-legged sat Laila in all her Force-ghost glory.

"Laila!" he sat back.

"Luke." She smiled and stood up.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing here?" he asked her stuttering.

She wondered around the room, "Just checking up on you," she picked up a holo of Luke and Mara from a few weeks ago, "Who's this?" she asked.

Luke rushed up and grabbed it and placed it face down on the table, "No one."

"She looks like a pretty special no one." She said glancing at the many other pictures of her on the table.

"Just a friend. Just a friend." Luke told her.

Laila gave him a stern look, "Don't lie to me, Luke. You think I don't know who she is?"

Luke hung his mouth open, "You know who she is?"

Laila chuckled, "I was to be the next Empress after Vader, of course I know who she is! Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand. If I had failed my mission she was to assassinate you."She said nonchalantly.

"Right." Luke replied.

"I also know that you love her." Laila said standing the holo back up.

Luke's head shot up, "I do—do—don't love…her." He gulped.

She looked down at the pictures, "Because, it's okay if you do. You're allowed to love somebody else."

"It is?" he asked softly.

She nodded, "It is," she looked at him, "Luke, it's been 3 years. Let go. Let go of me."

Luke felt the tears coming again, "I don't think I can, Laila."

"You have to. You're driving her away, Luke. Do you never want to see her again," Luke shook his head, no, "then tell her! If you're looking for my permission, you have it."

For a few minutes neither said anything, the Laila spoke up, "I've met your mother."

Luke looked up, "You have?"

"She's a wonderful person, Luke. You're just like her." She grinned, "And your father is doing quite all right also," she giggled and Luke reveled at the sound, "Just yesterday he was trying to convince Master Yoda and Master Qui-Gon Jinn to play strip poker with him!" she burst into laughter.

"Did they?" Luke asked chuckling.

"No, of course not. This is Yoda we're talking about!" she laughed again.

"Luke?"

"Yes?"

Laila glanced at his pocket and the japor snippet he kept there at all times rose out of it and into the air.

"Hey! What are you doing with that?" he tried to grab it but it kept moving just out of his reach.

"You don't need this as a burden of me anymore, Luke."

"It's not a burden!" he said still jumping for it.

"It is. You feel it's your fault I'm dead. It's not Luke," she called the snippet to her, "It's not. But, Luke. You can't not tell Mara. She's here, she's now," she started to pace the room, "She can't walk threw walls."

Luke averted his eyes from hers.

"Love her Luke. Love her like you loved me. Be there for her, just like you were for me."

"I don't know if I can." He said staring at their picture.

"Just because you love me doesn't mean you can't love her also. Love doesn't have a limit, Luke. It's always growing."

"Skywalker! I just have one thing to tell-" Mara slammed the door behind her and almost fell down when she saw Laila's ghost there.

"Laila? Vader's apprentice?" she regained her composure and looked from Luke to Laila and back to Luke again.

"You. It was never another girl, it was you," she said staring at Laila. Her gaze turned to Luke, "You've been cheating on me with someone's who _dead_?!"

Luke put his hands in the air, "For the last time, I am NOT cheating on you!"

Laila giggled again, but turned serious quickly, "Luke."

Luke let out an exasperated sigh and faced Laila again.

"I have to go back now. I think you need to talk to her," she gestured to Mara, "Forever, remember," she held out the snippet and walked over to Mara and placed it around Mara's neck, "Take good care of him, Mara. Or else I'll have to go all Jedi on you," she chuckled again and walked over to Luke.

"Goodbye Luke." She brushed her lips against Luke's but all he felt was a breath of cold air, "Let go of me." She whispered right before she disappeared.

Mara walked over and took Luke's hand, "Skywalker, I'm sorry. I didn't know-"

He stopped her with a gentle kiss, "I know, Mara. And that's my fault." He fingered the snippet from around her slender neck, "But I think that's another story for another time. What do you say we go out to dinner tonight? We could go to one of the best spots in the system, the _Chateaux du Jedi_."

"There's a _Chateaux du Jedi_?" she asked incredulous.

Luke smiled, remembering Laila's similar reaction so long ago, "No, but wouldn't it be cool if there was? I was really thinking this great little place called the Rose Chambers… pretty nice from what Han's told me…" he told her as they walked out of the room, together.


End file.
